VISITORS WILL USE THE FRONT DOOR

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28987, 31 August 1959, Page 11 (Supplement)

VISITORS WILL USE THE FRONT DOOR

APPROACHING the gracefully-curving main entrance to Princess Margaret Hospital, visitors walk up a broad sweep of steps, pass through three big, plate-glass double doors, and find themselvesjn a spacious and sunny tile-floored vestibule. Its walls are attractively finished in warm tones of Hanmer marble, while, along the full length of its large picture windows are troughs filled with flowers and ptants.

This visitors’ vestibule is about 90ft long by some 27ft wide, and is the largest public area in the hospital. It is typi-

cal of the new hospital’s design as a whole—incorporating some radical departures from New Zealand hospital tradition.

Visitors alone will enter the vestibule by the big swing doors. Completely separate entrances to the hospital have been provided for the incoming patients, outpatients, nurses, full-time medical staff, and visiting doctors. These entrance arrangements will show a big advance on conditions which two or three years ago caused confusion at the Christchurch Public Hospital.

The main vestibule will be* the hub of much activity on visitors’ day. It contains the public inquiry office, public telephone booths, a busy and

well-stocked hospital shop, and the four automatic elevators, push-button controlled, to carry visitors and certain staff to the wards on the upper floors.

Entering the main vestibule, visitors will be able to ask after patients at the inquiry office, staffed in shifts by three women receptionists. They will handle all other requests for information, and will accept letters, telegrams, parcels, and flowers left for patients.

Just off the vestibule are men’s and women’s cloakrooms where visitors in wet weather can leave coats, hats, and umbrellas, and wash their hands and comb their hair before visiting patients.

The visitors are now ready to go to the wards. These are numbered Al-4 and 81-4, according to which hospital block they are in, and on which floor.

Until the ward doors are opened on the visiting hour, visitors will not be “herded” in the main vestibule, as is the case in

many hospitals. They may go straight up in the lifts (manned by orderlies on visitors* day) to the smaller ward vestibules, superimposed floor by floor above the main vestibule. These ward vestibules will be a popular place for walking patients and their visitors to sit and talk in comfort. Large and sunny, the vestibules have picture windows affording glorious views over the city and plains to the mountains beyond. Troughs of potted plants and shrubs extend along each window base, providing an unusual decorative effect. Usually the ward sister is available during the visiting hour to answer a visitor’s questions about a patient’s general condition. If questions of a medical nature arise, however, they are referred to the doctors. • •