Medicine through the ages

Preparation and Planning

This lesson involves students moving around the classroom to collect information. You should set up the work stations for each conflict (each consisting of three Student Worksheets) before the students arrive in the classroom.

Episode 3 involves students creating a mind map as part of a small group. You will need to ensure that you have a sufficient number of A3 sheets of paper and a good selection of coloured pens for this exercise.

It may be worthwhile familiarising yourself with the definitions for the words in each war's Word Bank before the lesson starts.

About the MOD Topic

Notes about the provision of medical care, medical advances made during the war and changes to the provision of medical care after the Crimean War, Anglo-Boer War, First World War and the Falklands War are provided on Student Worksheets 1-12.

The Army Medical Services:
The Army Medical Services (AMS) are made up of the four following Corps: The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), The Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) and The Queens Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC). The AMS support every Regiment and Corps within the British Army by supplying personnel to work within these units to provide Primary Healthcare. In addition the AMS has a large number of Medical Units which are responsible for the evacuation and treatment of all serious injuries sustained on the battlefield. The way in which casualties are evacuated determines the three different types of medical unit which exist within the British Army. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have similar medical support for their personnel.

Close Support Medical Regiments
These Regiments provide medical and evacuation capabilities to front line units such as infantry and armour. Close Support Medical Regiment personnel can find themselves either treating wounded personnel on the front line or evacuating the wounded to a larger medical facility run by a General Support Medical Regiment. Close Support Medical Regiments do not provide definitive treatment to wounded personnel apart from for minor ailments. They can be viewed rather like paramedics arriving at the scene of an accident and providing first aid.

General Support Medical Regiments
General Support Medical Regiments provide much the same role to that of their Close Support colleagues, but do not operate on the front line. They run large scale medical facilities which can treat a large number of injuries; however they are incapable of providing definitive treatment to those requiring surgery. Consequently General Support units also play a role in evacuation, transporting the seriously injured back to a Field Hospital. This is an essential step in the evacuation of the wounded on a battlefield, as it provides what can be viewed as a 'pit stop' for the casualty, ensuring that as much is done for them as possible before they reach the Field Hospital.

Field Hospitals
A Field Hospital is a unit that, operating out of tents, can provide a NHS standard of healthcare anywhere in the world. Owing to its size and complexity, once a Field Hospital has been built it is rarely moved and will be located in an area which is far behind the front line.

Further Opportunities for Learning

Students can use the UK Statistics Authority's website (www.statistics.gov.uk) to research statistics for life expectancy in the UK. Ask students to present their findings using graphs in order to exercise their numeracy skills. Ask students to write a paragraph discussing which factors they think affect life expectancy and why the average life expectancy differs throughout the UK.

Students are to imagine they are a patient in a military hospital during either the Crimean War, the Anglo-Boer War, First World War or the Falklands War. Ask students to write a letter to a loved one outlining their experiences of the hospital and the treatment which they have received.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.