§ 70. Mr. HINDSasked the Under-Secretary for War what arrangements are being made for providing a medical service for the New Armies; and, pending the organisation of such a service, what provision is made for the treatment of troops in the new battalions or brigades?
§ Mr. TENNANTThe New Army will be provided with medical arrangements on the same basis as the Expeditionary Force. Large training establishments have been formed at which the subordinate personnel is being instructed in their active service duties. Pending the completion of these arrangements, the New Army is receiving medical attendance on exactly the same lines as the Regular Army in times of peace. Temporarily commissioned officers in the R.A.M.C. and locally employed civil practitioners have been engaged in sufficient numbers to meet all requirements, and nearly a hundred of the R.A.M.C. Reserve of Officers have been recalled to duty. So far there has been no difficulty in securing the services of a sufficient number of fully qualified medical men, and it is not anticipated that there will be any shortage in the immediate future. All the military hospitals in the country have been very greatly expanded and several large civil and private hospitals are working in conjunction with them. Up to the present there has been no lack of hospital accommodation.