TIMARU HOSPITAL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXX, Issue 20164, 19 July 1935, Page 8

TIMARU HOSPITAL

NEW BUILDINGS DESCRIBED

MODERN APPOINTMENTS

Owing to the decision of the South Canterbury Hospital Board to apply for authority to raise a loan of £52,000 for hospital buildings in Timaru and Waimate, a great deal of interest has been evinced by the public in the type of buildings it is proposed to erect. Yesterday a representative of “The Timaru Herald” waited on the architects, Messrs Turnbull and Rule, and they gave a most interesting outline of the proposed building programme. The new buildings will embody the latest improvements in hospital planning, and when completed should be the equal of any hospital in the Dominion. The Board is aiming at a 200 bed state, and the new pro-

gramme will make ample provision for the attainment of this objective, and at the same time enable any extensions which might be desired in the future to be carried out. Lay Out Plan The lay-out plan shows that eventually a main arterial corridor will run right through the hospital buildings from the new administration building on High Street on the east to the Nurses’ Home Street on the west, and from this corridor will open all the wards to the north, and the service buildings, such as kitchen, stores and domestic quarters, operating theatre block, X-ray department, laboratories, casualty receiving station, etc., arranged on the south side. Under this scheme the old building comprising Ward No. 2, the old administrative building, the present operating theatre block, the kitchen and domestics’ quarters and Ward No. 4 will all be demolished, and new buildings erected in their place. The proposed building programme includes a large addition to the Nurses’ Home, a three-storey surgical and maternity ward block, operating theatre block with X-ray department and laboratories, kitchen block with domestics’ quarters, new power house, porters’ quarters, and remodelling of the laundry. Nurses’ Home The first portion of the work which will be undertaken will be a threestorey addition across the back of the present Nurses’ Home. The new block in the Nurses’ Home will contain 31 bedrooms, three sitting rooms, washing, sewing, ironing and linen rooms, as well as bathrooms, showers and conveniences. The building is to be constructed of reinforced concrete faced with brick, with concrete floors and roof. The roof will be flat, and will be suitable for use as a sun deck, for drying clothes or for deck tennis. Surgical Block On completion of the Nurses' Home, a start will be made with the surgical ward block, which will also be three storeys in reinforced concrete, faced with brick to natch the existing buildings. The roof of this block will also be flat. On the ground floor opening off the main arterial corridor, will be the men’s surgical ward comprising a 16-bed ward divided by glazed screens into four four-bed wards. This is in keeping with the latest improvement in hospital planning. In addition to these wards there will be two-bed wards and our single wards, making a total of 26 beds. On the northern side there will bo a sun room, and sitting and smoking rooms, kitchenette, sisters’ room, duly room, sink room, nurses’ changing room and linen room. On the opposite side of the ■main corridor will be situated a special lift tower, containing a modem bed lift. Stairs will also connect with the upper floors. Adjoining will be a laboratory*, X-ray block, comprising large X-ray room complete with therapy, transformer and dark rooms Provision has also been made for waiting and dressing rooms and chemical and pathological laboratories. The First Floor The fir-t floor will be devoted to the women’s surgical wards, which will be the same in design as the men’s wards. On this floor also will be located the operating theatre denartment, which has been planned in the most modem manner, comprising two fulhsized operating theatres, sterilising and anaesthetising rooms, scrub-up instrument and dressing rooms, doctors’ and nurses’ rooms, with changing rooms adjacent. Provision has also been made for plaster, blanket, trolley and store rooms.

The maternity department will be located on the second floor, and this will be a 16-bed ward, divided into four four-bed wards, a two-bed ward and four single-bed wards, while in addition there will be two ante-natal wards. The necessary kitchen, duty and other rooms will also be provided. There will be a large nursery with large sun room glazed with vita glass. On each floor there will be a dirty f’othes room, complete with three chutes, one for rubbish and two for soiled linen. These chutes will run the full height of the building to the ground floor, where the clothes will be handled and taken direct to the laundry. Conspicuous Tower The lift tower will be continued to a height of about 66 feet, and will be a land-mark. The lift is taken up to the level of the flat roof, so that patients can be taken out on to the roof for sun treatment. Under the ward portion of the building will be spacious basements, including men’s and women’s clothes stores and large storage rooms, six in all, for hospital supplies. There will also be a nurses’ lecture room and demonstration room. Local .V terial The total length of the building will be more than 200 feet, while it will be about 45 feet high. It is estimated that more than 80 per cent, of the total cost of the building will be spent in New Zealand, while as much of the actual material required, such as bricks and “imbe-, will be procured in Timaru. Labour will absorb tbout 33 per cent, of the total cost, and this will all be drawn from Timaru.