NEW CENTRAL BLOCK

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXXII, Issue 4731, 21 December 1938, Page 5

NEW CENTRAL BLOCK

WAIKATO HOSPITAL. WELL EQUIPPED DEPARTMENTS Most modern hospital administration building in New Zealand and undoubtedly one of the finest, the new central block of the Waikato Hospital, was officially opened yesterday afternoon by the Minister of Health, the Hon. P. Fraser. Imposing on the exterior, attractively finished in the interior, and designed to fulfil all the requirements of a rapidlygrowing institution, the building stands as a monument to the work of those who are rendering in the Waikato the greatest social service that mankind knows. Built at an estimated cost of £29,600, the new block was occupied by the staff on Saturday. It forms a wing erected from the former office entrance out to the roadway running up from the Nurses’ Home. In effect it will be the “nerve centre” of the hospital. It is a two-storeyed building with a large subway under the ground floor, extending the full width of the building and continued underground to the boiler house. The roof of the new block is flat and covered with asphalt. The entire building is constructed of reinforced concrete, and embodies the latest earthquake and fire-resisting principles. Adequate accommodation is provided in the building for all departments required in the administration centre, many of which were formerly cramped and in inadequate quarters. One of the outstanding features of the block is the liberal space allotted to the various departments, while the corridors have been constructed to very wide measurements.