personnel was assigned, which included members of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS). This was the first time that QARNNS personnel had been deployed afloat since the Korean War. They brought a packaged 250-bed portable hospital and 90 tons of medical supplies with them. Beds were provided for 20 intensive-care patients and 94 medium-dependency patients. Up to 940 low-dependency patients could be accommodated in dormitories. Three s, , and , became ambulance ships. Hospital ships were exempt from attack under the Geneva Conventions, but they also require that patients not be returned directly to the battlefield after treatment. Due to the distances involved, this meant that treatment on Uganda would involve a prolonged absence, even those with relatively minor injuries that were anticipated such as trench foot. Additional medical facilities were therefore established elsewhere in the task force. Surgical teams were also embarked on Hermes, Fearless and Canberra. In addition to the British Army medical staff embarked, there were 425 Royal Navy medical staff with the task force, including 103 doctors. Some 40 Royal Naval Reserve doctors were called up for service in the UK to replace those headed for the South Atlantic. The departure of so many trained personnel led to the suspension of nursing training at the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar, and Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse. The Army Blood Supply Depot issued 800 units to the task force, and more units were obtained from a blood donation drive on Canberra. Dockyards It was initially hoped that ships could be loaded and converted at commercial shipyards, but these were soon overwhelmed by the requirements for skilled labour and specialised facilities, and the burden fell on the Royal Navy Dockyards at Portsmouth, Devonport, Chatham, Portland, Rosyth and Gibraltar. These had been subject to cutbacks; redundancy notices had been issued at Portsmouth on 2 April, and Chatham and Gibraltar had been slated for closure. Along with Marchwood, the home of the Army's 17 Port Regiment and the home base of the six LSLs, they were not bound by legal limits on the handling of explosives. Marchwood had only a single jetty, capable of accepting two ships, and could not accept deep draft vessels. Most major ship conversions were carried out at Devonport. Portsmouth carried out seven major conversions, including Norland, and fourteen minor ones, of which ten were tankers. These were the simplest conversions, as all they involved was installing