Florence Nightingale's Crimean War Patients Poem by Terence George Craddock (Spectral Images and Images Of Light)

The facts myth and legend.

'Florence Nightingale
laboured in Constantinople;
nursing surgical period
Crimean War casualties;
British soldiers treats
near on two weary legless years.'

November 1854 sees
Nightingale's ship arrived;
at Selimiye Barracks
in Scutari Constantinople;
modern-day Üsküdar in
present day Istanbul Turkey.

Nightingale's staff
consisting of courageous;
38 women volunteer nurses
trained by Nightingale;
could not preform miracles
wound disease death toll rises?

Death rate highest of all
hospitals in treatment region;
first winter at Scutari
4,077 soldiers there died;
ten times more soldiers
died from illnesses diseases;

than from battle wounds?

In the face of military official
administrative indifference;
Nightingale and her nurses
arrival found wounded soldiers;
badly cared for by ill equipped
overworked medical staff?

Mass infections were common
cholera dysentery typhoid;
typhus were fatal for fated many...
medicines were in short supply;
hygiene was being neglected
no equipment existed to process;

food for suffering wounded patients?

Why were conditions
at the temporary;
Selimiye Barracks
in Scutari hospital;
so fatal to patients
Crimean War during?

Simple obvious expected answers
when present developed medical;
research knowledge is applied
past conditions of overcrowding;
Scutari hospital's defective sewers
lack of adequate ventilation?

A Sanitary Commission sent
out by British government;
to hospital Scutari in March 1855
arrived approximately six months;
after lamp lady Florence Nightingale
had arrived effected treatment flushing;
out sewers improvements to ventilation?

Death rates were sharply reduced.

Florence Nightingale during
Crimean War did not;
recognize hygiene as
death cause predominant;
Florence Nightingale
never claimed credit;
for personally helping
to reduce death rate?

Florence Nightingale
was angelic compassion;
lady with the lamp an
angel visitation in nightmares;
during agony death nights
when fear gripped dying hearts;
truth is legend accolades?

Who perpetuated
until recently held myths;
which commonly asserted
Nightingale reduced;
death rate from 42% to 2%
by making improvements;
in hygiene herself personally
called in Sanitary Commission?

The Dictionary of National
Biography first edition of 1911;
made this claim unsubstantiated
second edition in 2001 did not?
Fabulous legendary achievements
of early great heroic innovators;
is best honoured in truth plain
lamp nightly angelic visitations?