THAT HOSPITAL BLOCK.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 222, 19 September 1929, Page 8

THAT HOSPITAL BLOCK.

A MODEL OF INGENUITY. 5> HOW TO COMBAT INFECTION. THE ARCHITECTS EXPLAIN, THE VERY LATEST IN HOSPITAL ( PLANNING. "In cases in which the sanction of the f Ministry of Health'is needed, the Min- :- istry require ao a condition that every n building intended to contain infected i. persons or articles should be distant at ~ least forty feet from the boundary of 1 the site, and that there should be a similar distance between each such k building and any other." 8 This is a quotation from an authori--7 tative work on "Isolation Hospitals" by Drs. H. Franklin Parsons and R. Bruce r Low, two recognised British experts. 1 The book goes on to sa'y that Sir R. ? Thome's inquiries tended to show that r in well-administered hospitals, having an open space of some 40 feet between the hospital wards and any neighbouring thoroughfares or dwellings, no risk of spread of infection from scarlet fever, typhus or enteric fever need be apprehended, and that conclusion was confirmed as the results of an investigation . made at the London Fever Hospital over a long period of years by Sir Shirley Murphy. The authors further point out that it was not contended that a distance of less than 40 feet would necesi sarily entail danger, but 40 feet had , been in practice found sufficient to . secure safety, and had been made a rule. Margin More' Than Safe. In the infectious diseases block it is : proposed to erect in the Auckland Hospital grounds, over which there is so much controversy, this minimum of 40 feet has been multiplied many times, and the site chosen for the block is far away from -any other building on the site. This was only one of the facts brought before a "Star" reporter who this morning inspected the model and plans for the block at the office of the architects, Messrs. Brown and Kirk, of Union Buildings. They showed 'i.im instances in the Old Country, in the United States and on the Continent where the infectious diseases block was an integral ' | part of A he main hospital site, and much ( nearer to buildings than it was intended to place the block in the Auckland Hospital grounds. In the design of the blojk. for Auckland the very latest practice has been followed, and it contains features far in advance of anything ill any other hospital in New Zealand—that is, in the way of securing perfect isolation and preventing any possible infection or crossinfection. ] By an ingenious use of the contours ; of the site on the slope below the T.B. shelters, it has been possible to secure separate access to each of the three floors from ground-level, so that perfect isolation during a patient's admission, treatment and also discharge could be secured. The block is in fact equivalent to five buildings in one. The segregation of the various parts has been secured in the very latest manner by air passages on either side of the central service block, right in the middle of the building. These air passages go right through the middle of the building from front to back, isolate the north and south blocks completely, and also make it possible for the porters bringing j the food from the main building to pass i the insulated conveyors - through slides ( without entering the wards at all. < Medical Approval. i "Every precaution humanly possible, 1 and the latest practice, has been embodied to prevent the possibility of infection being conveyed, either outside the block, or. between' the wards," said the architects. "We conferred with the honorary staff of the hospital right through, and in addition a special committee of the staff went thoroughly into the plans, discussed the precautions and expressed full approval. An inspection of the plans for any of the floors shows the very stringent pre- a cautions taken to secure immunity from j infection. Not only is the central serf rice block, for the nurses, medical men, r etc., completely cut off by the -before- a mentioned air passages, but the rooms in the wards are again isolated in a special manner. The room where the patient goes to be discharged is a most f ingenious example of the very thorough j, manner in which any possibility of in- c fection has been guarded against. The e disinfecting department is also a model of modern practice, and contains all the latest methods of disinfecting everything, from clothes to beds and bedding, either by steam or by formaldehyde gas. No Extravagance. As the architects point out, there is nothing quite so up-to-da.te in any other hospital in New Zealand. In reply to a criticism that the cost of the block would be extravagant compared with other hospital buildings, it is pointed out that such a block must necessarily contain features that are not necessary in the ordinary hospital, and that they would be essential whether the hospital was erected in the present grounds or was relegated to Timbuctu. It is further pointed out that not only is the block perfectly isolated and equipped with every known means of preventing infection, but the nurses are to have quarters separate from all the other buildings in the grounds. The Financial Aspect. Seen this morning, Mr. William Wallace, the chairman of the Hospital Board, explained that without an ini crease in the hospital levy it would be " quite impossible for the board to undertake the big scheme of putting up an infectious diseases hospital out of the city. He pointed out that already the board had to face a fusillade by the local bodies from the City CouncilMownwards on account of the hospital rate, and he did not think for one moment that the public would consent to any increase. Moreover, he was convinced that there was ho necessity to go in for the bigger scheme. He emphasised the fact that it was estimated that to build a separate Hospital outside the city would cost between £150,000 and £200,000, and that the maintenance would be £20,000. "Do you think for a moment," he asked, "the public would sancion such an expenditure, when it is entirey unnecessary?" Mr. Wallace explained that the board had issued some £250,000 worth of tenyear debentures for its capital expenditure, and by a judicious provision of sinking funds the whole of that loan issue would be wiped out in 1935, so that the board would then be free to look forward to further extensions, if deemed necessary, and in such positions as might be decided upon. "The board has been careful throughout its administration," he concluded, "to keep the hospital rate as low as is possible without impairing tho efficiency of tho institution."