ABSTRACT
Contemporary hospital accounts, committee journals and published medical works yield sufficient information to facilitate the reconstruction of a reasonably comprehensive picture of treatment procedures but, unfortunately, much remains speculative. The high incidence of amputations carried out in the surgical treatment of battle casualties was reflected in both the resources and relatively sophisticated equipment provided for the comfort and care of patients who had suffered the loss of limbs. Contemporary military surgeons were greatly influenced by the work of the Frenchman Ambroise Pare, who had revolutionised attitudes towards the treatment of battle casualties during the wars of religion in the sixteenth century. Altruism and the desire to provide the most up to date treatment available are considerations but, in terms of hard cash, a reduction in overall expenditure would, inevitably, have resulted from a rapid cure in Bath compared with expensive on-going in-patient care at the Savoy or Ely House.
