The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1868.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 151, 29 June 1868, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JUNE 29, 1868.

THE NELSON HOSPITAL. Tho fast approaching completion of .the new Hospital suggests the propriety of offer ing to our readers some description of the building;, -which, whether we regard its size or the general completeness of its arrangements, may surely rival any similar institution in these colonies, and which no less unquestionably reflects the highest credit upon the community amongst which it has been erected. The Hospital has been built on a plateau of partly artificial ground, facing the sea, and on the opposite side of the road to the old Taranaki 'buildings, to which it presents a very striking contrast, highly suggestive not only of the increased prosperity of the proviuce, but also of the more enlarged and liberal ideas which now prevail in reference to such humane and charitable institutions. The building faces the sea, and is therefore, in a sanitary point of view, very favorably situated, and consists of a centre building, of two stories, containing a surgery, board-room, with two other rooms, and two kitchens, all of spacious dimensions, flanked on either side by two magnificent wards, each 93 feet long by 25 feet broad. These rooms, which are, we believe, 15 feet high, are furnished with ventilators to the roofs and also to the walls, and every meaos have been taken not only to render them subservient to the great object which the institution has in view, by securiug a free circulation of fresh air, but also by imparting a cheerful appearance to the apartments themselves, the walls being painted of a delicate green, and the windows, doors, &c, made of red pine, varnished and finished with all the care which would be bestowed upon the villa of a merchant prince. At the head of each bed is conveniently placed a bracketsheif to hold medicine, &c, aud the visitor is very agreeably impressed on entering these noble apartments with the idea that the comfort of their future inmates has been studied in no ordinary manner in the very satisfactory arrangements which meet the eye at every turn. On each side of the ends of these wards which are nearest to the main corridor, are two. ante-rooms for the nurses, having windows looking into the wards, and thus allowing a complete surveillance of the whole room, whilst at the opposite ends of each ward are lobbies containing closets, with bath-rooms and lavatories. We will now return to the main corridor, which extends from the front to the back of the building — a length of 76 feet, and has on each side of it provision and drug stores, bath-rooms and closets. Behind the front eastern ward and parallel with it, is another ward, intended, we imagine, for patients afflicted with such disease, as may render their complete isolation from their fellow-sufferers compulsory. This ward is 53 feet long by 25 feet wide, and the height and arrangements are precisely similar to those of the north eastern and north western wards, which have already been described, being furnished with ante-rooms, baths, closets, &c, and ventilated in like manner. We believe that the original plan included another ward corresponding to this ward, aud thus forming an unequal parallelogram wiA. the two larger wards, but this has been abandoned for the present, the existing proportions of the building being deemed quite sufficient for the immediate requirements of the community. The centre building, containing the chief entrance, surgery, boardrooms, &c, which we have already noticed, is of two stories, the upper portion of which contains the apartments of the Besident Surgeon, four store rooms, with an operation room, 17 fe«t by 13, with sky light, and a corresponding room on the opposite side. The building is of simple yet substantia character, with slate roof, and the three

wards will be furnished with a wide verandah, under which the patients may tako exercise, and which, together with the spouting &c., is expected to arrive by the Ballarat next month. The building only awaits these necessary additions to render it complete. There yet remain to be erected, as detached buildings, a dead and post-mortem house, at the extreme back of tho Hospital, together with a washhouse, at a distance from it, both of these to be of brick. The Hospital has been erected from the designs of John Blackett, Esq., the Provincial Engineer, who has shown himself thoroughly conversant with all the most modern appliances which have been adopted in institutions of this nature iv tho home countrj-, and the contract for the building was undertaken by Mr W. Good, whilst the plumbing, glazing, &c, was executed by Mr Thomas Mills, both of this city, and we may add that they have conscientiously fulfilled their contracts, the work throughout being of very superior character, and highly creditable to our local tradesmen. We believe that the cost of the building wilt be about £6000, and although the size of the building may appear to be somewhat l a excess of our present requirements — let us hope that it may long continue so — this consideration sinks into insignificance when we regard the immense advantages derivable from the improved ventilation, &c, which could only be attained by these means. The Nelson Hospital is an institution to which the province generally may point with honest pride, as a proof that in the midst of our increased prosperity the responsibilities entailed upon us by the necessities of the suffering and afflicted members of the community were not forgotten, but, on the contrary, met with large and generous recognition at our hands.