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ISOLATION HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATION.
On the 13th April the Joint Committee of the Isolation
Hospital of the Borough Councils of Acton and Wembley, met
for the first time.
The following report was presented in May to the Joint
Committee by the Medical Officers of Health of the two
Boroughs : —
1. "The greatest need and the most immediate want of the
hospital is more single unit isolation places. There are now
no such individual cubicles or cells. The single beds available
are the side wards off wards 2, 3, and 4; these were
not intended as cubicle wards, and their more appropriate
use is to obtain quietness and nursing for any serious cases
that require individual attention.
The scheme approved by the Ministry of Health mentions
that there should be at the hospital not less than 115 beds,
of which not less than 40 shall be in cubicles. These cubicles
cannot be satisfactorily obtained by any extension or adaptation
of the present wards; additional new building will
have to be considered.
The question of whether or not the whole of the 40 beds
should be provided in one pavilion is a matter for future
discussion when the plans are considered.
2. An operation unit for the hospital is necessary.
3. Administrative Block and Nurses' Quarters.
As the members of the Committee are aware, in addition
to the building in the grounds of the hospital, there are two
other buildings utilised to house the staff. The present
building is not only insufficient, but inconvenient and unsatisfactory,
and no adaptation will render it satisfactory
as an up-to-date administrative block.
A new building will have to be erected, which will meet
not only present requirements, but future extensions, always
keeping in view the growing recognition of the need for
better accommodation for the hospital staff—nursing and
domestic.
4. A resident medical officer is recognised as a necessity as
soon as possible, and appropriate residential quarters for
him will have to be provided.
5. A porter's lodge is necessary.
We are of opinion that the Committee should firstly consider
the advisability of appointing an architect who has
had experience in the lay-out of isolation hospital buildings,
so that the best use of the site may be made having regard
to the new buildings necessary, and the possibilities of
appropriate adaptation of the present wards to their best
uses in the completed hospital."
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