Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 594 Medical Inspection
Upon hearing that His Majesty the Emperor suddenly planned to come for an inspection, Egno led his administrative officials and waited at the gate of the hospital early.

The restructured medical institute has now been officially renamed the Kingdom Medical Department... It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of State and is responsible for the epidemic prevention and medical services for all the people of the United Kingdom.

Of course, the Medical Department also trains and supplies military doctors to the Ministry of National Defense and the military.

As a minister, Egno naturally knew the purpose of Harvey's surprise inspection of the work... Although the Battle of Great Bear Lake was won, the performance of the army's battlefield medical department was slightly poor.

They were not to blame for the more than one hundred soldiers who died directly on the battlefield, but the emergency treatment of three hundred seriously and lightly wounded soldiers clearly exposed the inadequate capabilities of the medical staff. The medical institute's targeted training for battlefield first aid often only focused on rapid hemostasis and wound suturing, and it seemed somewhat difficult to cope with more complex injuries and subsequent infection problems.

This also resulted in dozens of seriously injured soldiers who had been rescued from the clutches of death losing their precious lives due to lack of timely and effective treatment on the army's victorious return journey.

Not all medical personnel, like Egno, possessed the elven talent for natural magic and also had considerable insights into medical research... Most of the half-elves who followed him were only magic apprentices. Even if they were all sent to the battlefield, their weak healing skills could not even repair a severed finger.

Not to mention ordinary doctors... They are used to relying on the medical alchemy beasts' superb and fast suturing skills, as well as the hemostatic dressings and healing potions developed by the medical institute. The wounded brought back from the battlefield are often sewn up, bandaged and given medicine, and then they just have to watch and wait for them to recover naturally.

The whole process was not much different from that in the medical center, and everything was done strictly in accordance with the battlefield first aid procedures taught in their training...but no one knew the complexity of the battlefield environment, and the infection rate of outdoor medical treatment was far higher than that of a clean and comfortable medical center.

Naturally, people of this era could not understand what infection was, let alone the reproduction principles of bacteria and viruses... The gauze used to bandage wounds and the silk thread used to suture wounds needed to be boiled in boiling water before use. Boiled water was also needed for debridement before hemostasis treatment. Soldiers exhausted from fierce fighting had to take a specific ratio of sugar and salt water instead of being roughly fed potions.

We know the various requirements but not the reasons behind them. It is no wonder that many mistakes occur if we act strictly according to the regulations.

"Many soldiers actually died from festering wounds and persistent high fevers. With their already weak bodies, taking more magic potions would make them unable to withstand the erosion of magic power on their flesh and blood, leading to the rapid failure of their flesh and blood organs."

Although he knew that the Emperor might punish him for this, Egno still reported the results of the investigation out of a sense of responsibility.

Harvey said nothing as he flipped through the reports handed to him page by page, carefully scanning the treatment records of each soldier.

After closing the report, he tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers. The medical officials present were suddenly startled and sat up straight.

"Now you understand clearly that medical alchemical beasts and alchemical potions are not the only means of curing illnesses and saving lives."

Harvey's powerful mind and soul gave him a memory far superior to that of ordinary spellcasters. He could easily recite a soldier's detailed medical history. "Hugh Henderson, 22, from Frostflower Town in Grizzlie Territory, was pierced through the waist and abdomen by a Blackwater Spear during battle. After hemostasis and suturing, he died on the return journey from infection and internal bleeding caused by a ruptured intestine."

"Yuan, 28 years old, a native of the wasteland, was struck by a concentrated red beam during the battle, suffering extensive burns on his face, shoulders, neck, and chest. After receiving dressings and taking oral recovery potions, he died on the return journey from the high fever and organ failure caused by the wound ulceration."

Two very typical cases of medical malpractice... one is undertreatment and the other is overtreatment.

A middle-aged medical officer who had been sitting next to Egno stood up suddenly. His pointed ears and delicate features betrayed his identity as a half-elf. His face flushed with shame, and he lowered his head, rubbing his chest as he spoke in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I am responsible for the military medical mission in the Great Bear Lake operation. I bear all responsibility..."

Harvey waved his hand to interrupt him and said softly, "I have no intention of pursuing your guilt, and today's meeting is not an interrogation. I only ask you to reflect..." After that, he clapped his hands, and the accompanying guards came forward with a thick stack of documents and distributed them to the medical officers sitting in a circle.

"Take a look, everyone. This is a battlefield medical code I've drafted recently. It details the emergency medical classification system, the scope of application of magical potions, and more detailed disinfection and infection treatment methods."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole place was filled with the sound of rustling papers.

When he saw that the first core principle of battlefield medical care was clearly written at the beginning of the document...it was to ensure the safety of battlefield rescue personnel themselves, Egno quietly raised his head and glanced at Harvey who was sitting at the head with a complicated look.

However, no innovative treatment plan was proposed, nor was there any use of more advanced medical alchemy beasts. Instead, there was an "injury assessment and grading system" with dozens of items.

Prioritize controlling heavy bleeding, ensuring the injured person can breathe smoothly... and so on! What is airway intubation?
Managing an open pneumothorax... well, that's what you do when there's a penetrating wound to the lungs and neck.

Respond to shock and coma, check for head trauma, and prevent the casualty from hemorrhagic hypothermia.

In short, this outrageously detailed and lengthy opening preface was actually intended to first confirm... whether the injured person still needed emergency treatment, in order to avoid wasting precious medical personnel's manpower and delaying the rescue time for other injured people.

He continued to read, and the subsequent content made him even more dumbfounded.

Treatment of foreign body embedded injuries, burns, penetrating injuries, fractures...

And the most important thing is infection prevention!
In addition to using gauze and suture thread soaked in boiling water, it is equally important to clean the wound with clean water and repeatedly distilled liquor, instead abandoning their usual healing potions.

"Purple olive and hawk's beak garlic? Your Majesty... these two plants are clearly wild flowers and common spices without any magical ingredients."

When Egno saw a drug formulation research proposal mentioned in infection prevention, he finally couldn't help but put down the document, looked up at Harvey in surprise and asked.

Harvey nodded and smiled. "Your research into magical plants is undeniable, but you've completely neglected the development and exploration of common herbs... This is the Shepherd Knight, ahem... This is a potion formula reported to me by Minister of Agriculture Ambich Kenny. It's used by many livestock farmers in the southern region to prevent and treat postpartum fever in livestock."

They are all invasive infections caused by E. coli, Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. Harvey believes that since it can work wonders on livestock, it can naturally be applied to humans.

Compared to alchemical potions that have a strong effect but can only quickly promote the healing of flesh and blood, this ordinary plant extract potion that can be safely used by mortals is obviously more effective, and can also effectively avoid the side effects of mortals' intolerance to the erosion of magic.

Egno nodded and stood up with a serious expression. "I understand, Your Majesty. Please give me three days. We will immediately begin drug research and development and complete the drug clinical trials simultaneously!"

(End of this chapter)