AUCKLAND'S NEW HOSPITAL SETS HIGH STANDARD IN N.Z.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 33, 9 February 1943, Page 2

AUCKLAND'S NEW HOSPITAL SETS HIGH STANDARD IN N.Z.

EMBRACING the most modern ideas in design and construction in New Zealand, the new Auckland Hospital, in Green Lane Road, which will be officially opened next Saturday afternoon by the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser, is a notable building and, with provision for 264 beds, will serve to overcome an accommodation problem w T hich has been giving the Auckland Hospital Board deep concern for a number of years. The building contains six floors with cantilever verandahs, and has been designed to enable all the wards to face the north, and receive the full benefit of the sun. The present block is 175 ft long, and at a later stage it is proposed to build-a duplicate block to provide, in all, for probably over 500 beds, as part of the second building may be used for some of the hospital services. The new unit has been built in reinforced concrete, and has been designed to conform to all requirements for earthquake resistance. The internal subdivisions are in brick, and as the building has concrete floors it is practically fireproof. The foundations are locked into solid rock. Layout of Building Visitors will be impressed not only by the exterior architecture features, but equally by the interior layout of the institution. The main entrance hall is spacious, and off it open the telephone exchange, clerical rooms, the medical superintendent's room and waiting accommodation for visitors. There is a wide main staircase, with two lifts adjacent. Through a swing door access is given to a corridor running the full lehgth of the floor, and the subdivision is into four six-bed wards, four twobed wards and two one-bed wards. The five upper floors are duplicates of the ground floor, and each contains, instead of administrative offices, two extra six-bed wards. Laid out to a definite plan, all the floors have the large number of rooms needed to service the wards and provide for the staff. The food service will be conveyed in elec-trically-heated wagons from the main kitchen to a servery on each floor, and from there distributed. Visitors will note the smooth finish of the interior of the building. The corridors have no obstructions, as heating is obtained through panels in the ceilings, and the rooms and wards by wall radiators. For ventilation, vertical shafts run through each floor to an exhaust fan housed on the flat roof. All piping is carried in ducts. Comfort of Patients Comfort of patients has .been studied in every detail, and electrical equipment plays a big part. The installations include lighting and signalling services and two-way telephones, also radio. There is a lamp over each patient's bed, which can be swung at any angle. When a patient operates the signal system a light records the call, and the sister in charge can converse without leaving her room. The wards are designed to get the full effect of sunlight. The cantilever verandahs, along the northern front, will be much appreciated by convalescents, and the view from the front of the building is over a picturesque part of suburban Auckland. From the flat roof there are views of Hauraki Gulf and portions of the Waitemata Harbour. Under the ground floor of the hospital a tunnel has been built to carry the service mains, and through it steam is brought from some distance away by a secondary tunnel. The big tunnel has been temporarily fitted up as an air raid shelter, and is ideal for that purpose.

Complete plans have been made by the Auckland Hospital Board for the new unit to function. The nursing staff will number between 120 and 140, and assistance will be given by the Hospital Auxiliary Nursing Service. The domestic staff, including orderlies, will number about 36. In the vicinity of the new building quite a number of finishing touches are now being applied. The grounds are being tastefully laid out, and a considerable area will be used as a parking space. The new building has the advantage of ample open spaces in the vicinity. Quite a large area is devoted to the growing of vegetables, and the gently-sloping land with an easterly aspect is ideally suitable for that purpose. The plans of the hospital were prepared by an Auckland firmi of architects, Messrs. Farrell and Glover. The electrical heating and ventilating services were designed by Messrs. Mandeno, Lee and Brown, and the consulting engineers for the extensive ground work were Messrs. Harrison and Grierson. The building was erected by the Fletcher Construction Co., Ltd., and there was a number of sub-contractors.