MOUNT ALVERNIA, NEWEST
Mo
[OUNT ALVERNIA HOSPITAL. the most recently completed addition to Singapore's fine medical facilities, is sited on top of a com- manding hill at the junction of Thomson and Braddell Roads over- looking MacRitchie Reservoir. The new building represents the first
Entrance lobby, main stairway, lift halt and reception office.
phase of a major hospital complex planned as a teaching hospital con- trolled and operated by the Francis. Divine Missionaries of the
can
Motherhood.
All rooms in the four storey build- ing overlook the splendid panoramic view of MacRitchie Reservoir with
Lift lobby and main stairway (upper floors).
its pleasing surroundings of trees and shrubs forming one of the most beautiful scenes on Singapore Island.
The foundation stone for the first phase was laid by the Archbishop of Malacca and Singapore on 2 February 1960 and the building was completed in February of this year, the formal opening taking place on Saturday, 4 March 1961 when Dato Lee Kong Chian officiated. Building work will continue during the next few years until the full hospital complex is completed.
Present bed accommodation is in four wards each of eight beds on the ground floor and in 28 private single and double rooms on the upper floors providing a total of 75 beds. These will be increased as work proceeds until all 250 beds are available.
The facilities provided by the hospital are most up-to-date and include two operating theatres with an adjoining central sterilization unit; a children's nursery; two labour rooms, X-ray and physiothe raphy departments; dispensary and ante-natal outpatients' department.
On the ground floor service wing there is a well-appointed laundry and sewing department run by the hospital sisters.
The equipment in the hospital includes a piped supply of oxygen to all beds and patients may, on re- quest. have a bedside telephone placed at their disposal. The tele- phones have been installed on the latest automatic system which en- able patients to dial the required number on the bedside telephone.
The private rooms are not air- conditioned as the site provides excellent cross-ventilation, but each room has been equipped for air conditioning should a demand arise for this amenity. Air-conditioning has been installed in the theatres, X-ray department, labour rooms, central sterilization supply and all key centres of the hospital.
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