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It is preferable for the doctor's, nurse's, waiting and dispensing
rooms to be on the ground floor so that the patients do
not have to ascend or descend any steps within the building.
Owing to lack of space for building, and the difficulty of
procuring the ideal house indicated above, it was not found
practicable to have all the rooms mentioned on the ground floor.
We were therefore compelled to adopt the best alternative and to
have the waiting rooms and the dispensary on the ground floor and
the doctor's and nurse's rooms on the first floor. The position
of the laboratory does not matter as long as it is out of the way
of inquisitive patients. It should have good natural light and
be supplied with proper gas and water fittings, therefore we
chose the second floor as fulfilling these requirements. There
are many practical points to be considered in choosing and
rendering a place suitable for a dispensary which only those
who have fitted one up can appreciate.
The whole place should be made as cheerful and bright as
possible as it is found that consumptives are specially susceptible
to external influences and the fact of visiting a well lighted,
bright and airy establishment for their treatment has an excellent
effect on the patients' outlook and is a greater incentive to attend
thereat than when the place is dull, drab, and chilly. This
statement applies both to the inside and outside of the building.
As far as the rooms are concerned, each one will have to
be considered with regard to its intended use. The absence of
architraves, ledges and sharp corners and the presence of smooth
flat surfaces for walls, ceilings, and floors, are most important
features in all cases to prevent any accumulation of dust.
By a proper colour scheme ugliness may be done away
with and the walls must be rendered suitable for frequent
washing down. White of course should be the dominating
colour. The advantage of having the floors of granolithic