No_2_April_and_May__1939 — Page 19

Hong Kong Builder

25

MODERN HOSPITAL

New Johore Building Sets High Standard

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The Singapore branch of Messrs. Palmer and Turner, well-known local architects, is in the process of building one of the largest hospitals in the Far East for the Johore Government at Johore Bahru.

The building, which will have accommodation for 760 beds in addition to the administration and out patients departments, will be located at the summit of a gently sloping hill, and commands an uninterrupted view of the open country on all sides.

In the planning the architects have succeeded in satisfying the most exacting requirements of the staff and patients alike.

The ground floor contains the administration wing at one end and out patients wing at the other, while the centre of the building is occupied by casualty wards. A point of interest here is the separate working entrance complete with loading dock for handling food, clean and dirty linen, etc., which are taken direct to the required floors by two service lifts.

On the first floor are situated the operating suite and surgical wards. The lay-out of the twin operating theatres is so designed as to give proper circulation with- out confusion or crossing at any point. The patient arrives by lift and is taken through to the anaesthetic room, from there to the operating theatre and, on the completion of the operation, to the dressing room and so back to the ward in direct sequence. Similarly, sterilised instruments are passed into the operating theatre by a separate entrance and thence back to the sterilising room via the instrument cleaning room.

The surgeons and nurses are both given changing room accommodation and separate entrances to the theatre as distinct from those used by the patients.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors contain two typical "T" shaped wards per floor, with a central lobby and service block. The sister in charge of each floor is situ- ated in this central position, where she can also control the food passing from the kitchen to the service pantries. The nurse in charge of each "T" ward is placed at the head of the "T", thus having a clear view of all the patients and also the single rooms where the more dan- gerously ill patients are placed. All wards have direct through draught and are equipped with specially designed anti-glare windows.

The 5th floor is allocated to tubercular patients hence a greater floor area is allowed per bed.

The building, which will be finished in sand-faced bricks, is already under construction, at a cost of more than one and a quarter million Straits dollars.