HOSPITAL BOARD WORKS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 234, 30 June 1944, Page 3

HOSPITAL BOARD WORKS

Order Of Priority SILVERSTREAM FIRST ON LIST After a long discussion in committee, the Wellington Hospital Board last night decided to give priority to the following works in the order set out: — 1. Alterations to Silverstream military hospital to make it suitable for occupation. 2. Search for better emergency maternity accommodation in the Hutt Valley, while at the same time the building committee proceeds with plans for permanent maternity accommodation attached to the Hutt Hospital. 3. Remodelling of childrens and fever hospitals in Wellington and provision of better outpatients’ accommodation at the main hospital. . . 4. Alterations to laundry and provision for better staff accommodation there. The chairman. Mr. LI. It. loogood, said that considerable work would be involved in getting the projects under way. Almost all would require loan expenditure. He hoped the works would be pushed on as quickly ns labour and material permitted. Before the discussion, Mr. loogood submitted a report, excerpts from which follow,;— Works in Progress. Hutt Hospital: Two wings of the main block are in hand and should be completed in about eight mouths The extra accommodation available will be 180 beds, making a total of 410 patient beds at the Hutt. The nurses’ home is being extended to accommodate au additional 100 nurses, making the accommodation up to a total of 200 nurses at the Hutt. The female domestic staff quarters are nearing completion. Wellington' Hospital: The new 210-bed block now requires completion of details on the ground floor, and these should be finished in a few weeks. The diningrooms at the nurses’ home will be finished in a fortnight The water reservoir is complete except for the connecting mains. The foundations for one block of the new nurses’ home are being pushed on to enable earthwork for. the 210-bed block to be completed. Both these works had to proceed together. The reading round the 210-bed block is also in hand. Works Planned. Wellington Hospital: Plans Irave been prepared for the construction of two nurses’ homes in Wellington. These have been hauded to the staff and bouse committee for final review and the calling of tenders for their erection has been authorized after the final approval has been given. Part of the finance has been arranged. The extension of the laundry has been planned to give better staff accommodation and extra room. The finance for this project has not been arranged. The bootmakers and orthopaedic workshops are not satisfactory and new ones have been planned. The finance for this work has not yet been arranged. It is believed that when the above work is completed, better accommodation can be given to the carpenters’ shop. This has uot been fully planned. Silverstream.: A scheme to occupy oilverstream military hospital has been prepared and the superintendent-in-chier believes it possible to house 400 patients and the necessary staff within the existing buildings. The alterations required are chiefly a rearrangement of sanitary provisions to Suit our requirements. The question of taking over this hospital will come before, members at a special meeting when the estimate of cost is available and negotiations with the Health Department have been concluded. Works Discussed. Wellington Hospital: The superinten-dent-in-chief has requested the board to consider the works listed below and authority has been given to obtain sketch plans and tentative estimates: 1. Fever hospital and staff accommodation for same. 2. Children’s hospital; extensive alterations. 3. Outpatients’ new block, A junk store has beeu considered necessary to house much equipment which uow lies in the open and which could be repaired and madu useful. This is a matter yet to be finalized. A new boiler-house to serve both fever and Ewart hospitals is being planned. The reading round the back of the Wellington Hospital has. to be repaired and a scheme of regrading appears necessary before undertaking this work. However, it appears unwise to do very much in this direction if any new building is contemplated. Mackay’s Crossing: Plans for a new chest hospital at Mackay’s Crossing are being prepared for the board by the Public Works Department. These plans were reaching a stage when they might have been considered willi a view to calling tenders, but the board was informed that Silverstream might be made available and that the situation in respect to housing was so acute as to preclude the work proceeding at this juncture. The preliminary work already done will be of considerable value later. _ “'The question of occupation of bilverstream is a key move in some of the newer proposals,” said Mr. Toogood. •Till overcrowding in Wellington is diminished and room is provided to evacuate patients from fever and childrens, littte can be done in respect to those institutions. Furthermore, patients now in. Otaki and Macarthy Home will have to be Boused more permanently in order to be able to proceed on orderly lines with any programme in respect to patient accommodation. Some works do lie outside this stipulation, including the new nurses homes and outpatients’ block, but their relative urgency is a matter of opinion.