The Soviet military medical service and Polish Red Cross (PCK) set up field hospitals that looked after 4,500 prisoners suffering from the effects of starvation (mostly diarrhea) and tuberculosis. Local volunteers helped until the Red Cross team arrived from Kraków in early February. In Auschwitz II, the layers of excrement on the barracks floors had to be scraped off with shovels. Water was obtained from snow and from fire-fighting wells. Before more help arrived, 2,200 patients there were looked after by a few doctors and 12 PCK nurses. All the patients were later moved to the brick buildings in Auschwitz I, where several blocks became a hospital, with medical personnel working 18-hour shifts.; also see "First help" . Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
The Soviet military medical service and Polish Red Cross (PCK) set up field hospitals that looked after 4500 prisoners suffering from the effects of starvation (mostly diarrhea) and tuberculosis Local volunteers helped until the Red Cross team arrived from Kraków in early February In Auschwitz II the layers of excrement on the barracks floors had to be scraped off with shovels Water was obtained from snow and from fire-fighting wells Before more help arrived 2200 patients there were looked after by a few doctors and 12 PCK nurses All the patients were later moved to the brick buildings in Auschwitz I where several blocks became a hospital with medical personnel working 18-hour shifts; also see "First help"  Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum