Conditions During The Battle Of Balaclava

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Conditions During The Battle Of Balaclava

The Crimean War was fought between the British, the French, and the Turks against Russia between 1854-56. One of the main issues and concerns revolving around the war for the British public was health and safety. This was mainly due to the newly invented telegraph, (the Times War Correspondent) which was able to provide vivid, up-to-date reports about the appalling treatment facilities and methods for wounded soldiers in the Barrack Hospitals.

“At the hospital soldiers were left lying on bare floors; there were no supplies of any kind and they had no more than one meal a day, if that. there were no lavatories or sanitation and no nurses or bandages. Men were left to die in great pain without any medical attention.”

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As a result the Secretary of State for War, Sidney Herbert, asked Florence Nightingale to superintend a hospital in Scutari. Before she arrived, more men were dying of fever and infection than from fighting. Even so, army doctors, worried about the effect on the soldiers' discipline and consequently did not welcome her and her 38 nurses, but all the same she and her team made great improvements very quickly.

Below are the initial observations made by Florence Nightingale during the Crimean war.

  • “The men can lie in filth for 2 weeks before being seen by a ...

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