NEW HOSPITAL BUILDINGS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 184, 8 September 1909, Page 4

NEW HOSPITAL BUILDINGS.

PLANS TO BE OBTAINED. Dr. T. H. A. Valintiue, Inspector-Gen-' eral of Hospitals, conferred with J ha' Taranaki Hospital Board yesterday rcla-' tive to the increasing necessity for ex- | tending the accommodation at'the Xew 1 Plymouth Hospital. I The chairman, Mr. Fred Bellriiisrer,' pointed out that the Board had recog-. nised the necessity for more room. Fr»qucntly of late the hospital had been overcrowded. But the buildings were! old, and any scheme of enlargement' should contemplate the demolition nl i the present structure by degrees and its | replacement with a modern hospital in brick. To this end the Board had in-1 vited Dr. Valintine to meet them and advise as to the best lines to pursue. Dr. Valintine said that he had visitad the hospital on Monday, and found—as he had always found since his appointment as Inspector-General of Hospitalsthat the institution was being conducted with that absolute efficiency which had always been characteristic of its management. But the Board had to face the question of the necessity for increased accommodation. He had found that of the four main wards three were distinctly overcrowded. In the female ward, where accommodation was provided for only six beds, there were nine patients. In the other female ward there were seven beds and a cot where space was provided for only four. Of course, the beds had been allocated according to the amount of floor spate and cubic air space required for the proper accommodation of" the patients. In the male surgical ward there were sixteen beds where there should be only twelve. It was only because of the very great care and close attention given by the staff to ventilation that it was possible to carry on under these conditions. He had recognised for some time that ' the Board would have to do something . in the matter, but he had delayed nwk- ■ in g any recommendations because of the , futility of tinkering with the present , wooden buildings. Not onlv was the

. hospital overcrowded, but the facilities - in the operating theatre were not what - they should 'be in a hospital of this ■ kind. The Board, then, would have first > to provide further accommodation r or r male patients, giving up the present > ward to the females. The new t buildings would be expensive, for they . would have to be in brick. He would T recommend the Board to consult some r architect experienced in hospital desigu- . ing, who should be asked to draw plans, and formulate a scheme for the re-ercc-s tion of the building as required and as 3 funds permitted. They might well fois low the lines upon which the Waikato 1 Hospital'' was built at Hamilton. It 3 was easily the most modern hospital in .. the Dominion, and it had been built % gradually, as he had suggested to this rl Board. He recommended the Board to r provide a ward for at least 28 beds, for _ a 28-bed ward could be looked after as B easily as one with only sixteen. There would be 20 beds in the ward proper, and one in each of two little side-rooms for serious cases. The estimated/cost was about £ 100 per bed. In Napier tha other day a contrad for a similar ward had been let for £2joo, The operation '• theatre would cost £ISOO. " '' Mr. Browne asked Dr. Valintine if he would recommend building an infants' ward in the first contract. ' Dr. Valintine said the infants' ward > would have to come eventually, but he would not recommend its erection now. 3 As to Mr. Browne's remark about a re- ' sidcnt surgeon, there was no doubt that 1 the Board must provide for the great r expansion of the district's hospital re- • quirements. They had to hear in mind, • of course, that the New Plymouth hose pital was just no w at the very zenith of • I its popularity. The .people of Taranaki t were expressing their great confidence '. in the method of treating patients here, I, and in the general management of the ; institution. The accommodation, thereI fore, was being severely taxed. But if y any serious alteration were made in rer g«rd to the medical staff, possihlv there y would not be the same demand for adI mission. With an unpopular doctor, or e an unpopular matron, the applications el for admission to the hospital would pro- ;. bably be reduced bv half.

Mr. Browne also urged that one of th? first duties of the Board in re-building was to remove the isolation ward to n greater distance from the main hospital. Dr. Valintme agreed, and said that it was quite likely that the present male and female ward could be moved across the gully and converted into an isolation block.

'Dr. Valintine said he was loth to advise two-storey hospitals. It saved in the cost of roofing, but did not conduce to economical and convenient management. He recommended the adoption of the pavilion system, with a central administrative block. Mr. Brown said the Board was talkin" about new wings and all the rest of if, but where was the money coming fron, ?' Would the Government help? ' Dr. Valintine: No. . The chairman said that it would be necessary to raise the rate from Oil to 10d in the £IOO. This would provide £194.- which, with the Government subsidy, would provide sufficient to pay interest on a loan sufficient for the Board's purposes. _ Upon the recommendation of Dr. Valintine, the Board decided to get in touch with the architect iwho designed the Hamilton Hospital, and the House Com. mittee was authorised to procure a sketch plan of a new building which can be erected as the funds permit.