View report page

154
A comprehensive scheme of reconstruction and modernisation work at the
North-Eastern hospital was adopted. This hospital contains 661 beds, and 32 of
the wards, containing in all 509 beds, and a number of other buildings are temporary
buildings constructed about 40 years ago. Under the scheme, the temporary
buildings will be demolished and the wards replaced by eight general blocks of 62
beds each, each block including 22 isolation beds, and by two isolation blocks of
56 beds each. The total accommodation of the hospital will be increased by 99
beds to 760 beds. Other buildings to be erected are an operation and X-ray block,
patients' receiving section, discharge block, changing block for female non-resident
domestic staff and centralised clothing and furniture stores block in which will
also be included messroom accommodation for non-resident male staff.
Certain structural alterations were carried out at St. Margaret's hospital to
enable effect to be given to a decision that the treatment there of cases of congenital
syphilis should be discontinued, and a unit for the treatment of vulvo-vaginitis in
young girls and infants established instead.
Plans were approved of the addition of verandahs to four more cottage blocks
at High Wood hospital, and of the internal alterations to those blocks required to adapt
them better for the classes of case now treated at that hospital. Similar additions
and alterations have already been carried out to the other blocks in which patients
are accommodated.
Electric bed lifts were installed in four of the patients' blocks at Grove Park
hospital, including the two referred to in the annual report for 1933, the provision
of which was delayed owing to the contractor's inability to execute the work.
(b) Staff accommodation.—The plans of the proposed nurses' home at Pine wood
were approved, and it is expected that the work will shortly be begun.
(c) Other works.—Approval was given to a plan of a building to be erected at
King George V sanatorium to serve as a canteen and tea room with store and
kitchen, for the service mainly of refreshments to visitors to patients, also a
lavatory for visitors and a patients' library. The cost of this building, which will
take the place of a wooden hut hitherto used for the purpose, but now inadequate
for present requirements, will be met from the profits of the canteen except that
the lavatory and library will be paid for by the Council.
Owing to the greatly increased work undertaken in connection with the scheme
of group laboratories the accommodation at the Southern group laboratory, which
was built to meet the requirements of the services of the late Metropolitan Asylums
Board, has become insufficient, and it was decided to carry out an enlargement of
that laboratory and plans for an extension of the buildings providing additional
laboratories, offices and storage accommodation were adopted.
The main kitchen at the Eastern hospital having been found to be too small
for satisfactory working under present conditions and the plant and ancillary
accommodation being inadequate in certain respects, a scheme of enlargement was
decided on, and in connection herewith the installation of refrigerating plant, to
permit as at other hospitals the supply of meat in bulk, was also approved. The
work was in hand at the end of the year.
The programme for the installation of central heating at Goldie Leigh hospital
was continued by the installation of plant in two more of the cottage blocks.
Improvements were carried out at various hospitals to electric lighting installations,
laundry machinery and other engineering equipment, and as usual many
minor development works of a varied nature were executed.
Nurses'
homes.
Standard
size of
bedrooms.
The Council on 3rd July, 1934, decided that bedrooms in new nurses homes
and extensions of nurses' homes at hospitals and institutions under the management
of the Hospitals and Medical Services Committee should be normally of an
area of approximately 99 square feet for nurses, and 110 square feet for sisters, in
cases in which there is no site or other restriction on the planning, and from 96 to
99 square feet for nurses and 107 to 110 square feet for sisters in other cases, according
to local conditions and exigencies of planning.