NEW MATERNITY HOME

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8141, 7 June 1912, Page 3

NEW MATERNITY HOME

OFFICIAL OPENING NEXT WEEK. Early next week, it is anticipated, tho new St. Helens Maternity Home, in Coromandel street, will be officially opened. During tho three or four weeks that the home has beeu out of the builders’ hands, some fourteen patients have entered tho institution, and there is accommodation for fourteen more. Not at present, however, since the whole of the ground floor of the building needs extensive furnishing and is not .jet available. Yesterday the work was in progress, and as soon as this is finished the whole building will be ready for occupation. The home, which has been erected by the Government, will provide training for maternity nurses, and its-equipment and arrangements are highly efficient. The situation is admirable. Tall trees surround the building, and from the upper story commanding views of Evans Bay, Kilbimie, tho Town Belt towards Mount Victoria, and other hills about Wellington may be obtained. On all sides the homo has a free, sunny aspect. Eighteen bedrooms have been set aside for the nurses. Their diningroom is 30 feet by 15 feet, sittingroom 20 feet by 15 feet, and hall 3G feet by 8 feet. The main hospital building is 168 feet long and about 40 feet wide, with a corridor 144 feet in. length. Airy and well-lit wards are on either side, and a patients’ day room 38 feet by 16 feet, as well as nurses’ day room, are also provided. On the upper floor is a fine balcony looking to the north, and a nursery is close by. The isolation ward is provided by a small detached building. Tho baths, sinks, sterilising apparatus, etc., all embody the latest principles. Revolving baths, by means of which a patient may be lifted ont or in by tho nurse, are notable features. They run on wheels in connection with a swivel at the head, and the same key turns on hot, cold, or tepid water.

The structure, which is of reinforced concrete, cost about AIO,OOO. Messrs Murdoch and Wallis were contractors, and tho operations were supervised by Mr J. D. Louch (Public Works Department). Messrs Foley carried out the plastering work, Messrs Judd and Randall installed the sanitary and plumbing arrangements, and Mr T. A. Wells did tho painting.