FUTURE HOSPITAL BUILDING

Northern Advocate, 19 March 1929, Page 4

FUTURE HOSPITAL BUILDING

PRESENT VENTILATION.

THE ARCHITECT'S REPORT. As suggested, the board's architects, Messrs Owen and Morgan, reported to the Whangarei Hospital Board yesterday on a scheme for future extension, ventilation of wards and enlarging the board .room. With regard to a definite scheme being evolved, they would like first to prepare a departmentalised plan of the whole hospital buildings. This would entail some few weeks of work, but would be well worth the 1 time, and the board would have a proper record' of • building operations, drains, pipe-lines, etc. The charge forthis service would be £SO. -

Two suggestions were forwarded for the enlargement of the board room, at a cost of approximately £IOO each.

There was undoubtedly no lack of ventilation, the reverse being actually the ease. Draughts were complained of, making the wards cold in. the winter months. This was caused by- the excessive number of window and door openings, together with various ventilators in addition, all of which were functioning without due. regard to the control of the air, either in entering the room or leaving-it. At present the air eddied abdxit the room- and -found egress through the same openings, which it entered. The solution lay in providing ceiling ventilators, of a non-dust-catching design, and' linking these up to gaivanised iron trunks y tubes above the ceiling, and taking .up through the ridge with a. McKinnell or Boyle extracting ventilator on top. This system would result in the; vitiated air rising and passing up through the tubes to th e ventilator on top. If this were done the hot air rising in the wards would be automatically drawn off and the rooms kept fresh and sweet, only sufficient windows or doors being kept open—and that very little —to letr sufficient fresh air into the room as gently as possible. < As regarded the cost of carrying out these proposals, the estimated cost was in the neighbourhood of £25 or £3O a ward. The recommendation of the House Coompittee that tike board room be enlarged to also form, the lecture room, was approved and tenders will be called as soon as possible. For some time the board and executive officers have been working under very cramped conditions, almost unbearable in the sum-?

mcr. In moving the adoption of the report. regarding the ventilation, Mr J* A. B. Mac Kay said that for some time the ventilation had been unsatisfactory; The report was approved. The departmentalised plan was supported by Mr E. Gr. Hosking, who favoured laying out future buildings so as to work to a definite-' scheme. This would save a great deal of expenditure on odds and ends, which a few years after their erection only proved to be in the way. - 1 . ■ The amount of £SO was placed on the estimates for the purpose.