30 The Hospital Requirements of Sydney. 



pipes should pass directly out of the building, and no drain be 

 allowed beneath any part of it. 



All the mechanism of the water-closets, urinals, sinks, lavatories, 

 &c, should be of the most efficient and simple construction, and 

 as little woodwork as possible exposed in fitting it. 



All water-closets and lavatories should be strongly lighted day 

 and night, to prevent the possibility of any want of cleanliness. 



Linen shoots of glazed earthenware should be provided to every 

 pavilion, with an opening in each ward's scullery, and having at 

 the bottom a small well-lighted and well- ventilated closet. 



The ward ashes and dust should be discharged into a dust-shoot 

 of cast iron, opening at the bottom into an iron box. 



Each of these should be furnished, with a balanced trap top, 

 and be ventilated by a tube extending above the roof. 



Every physician and surgeon is aware of the beneficial influence 

 which a cheerful chamber exercises over a patient ; and if such is 

 the case in private practice, where the sufferer is surrounded by 

 the comforting society of friends, and the pleasant associations of 

 home, how much more will the aspect of a large ward affect the 

 sufferer who is compelled to lie among twenty or thirty others ? 



Every attempt should, therefore, be made to render the ward 

 of a hospital cheerful, and to break its monotony without in any 

 degree effecting its tranquility or healthfulness. 



It has previously been recommended that the ceilings and walls 

 should be worked plainly in Keene's cement, avoiding all irregu- 

 larities in the shape of cornices, &c. In addition to this, it is 

 desirable, in bright climates, that they should be tinted in a colour 

 that will slightly subdue the glare of pure white, afford a tran- 

 quilising, yet cheerful effect, and at the same time show the earli- 

 est sign of soil. All articles of furniture should be simple, strong, 

 free from ornamentation, and capable of easy and free washing. 

 Good white wood and iron should be the materials used in their 

 construction. 



The counterpanes are conspicuous features in a ward, and care 

 should, therefore, be taken to render them effective as bedding, 

 and in their influence upon the appearance of the ward. The 

 best material is rather thin, but strong, openly-woven linen, of 

 a distinct pattern in a single colour, possessing a bright clean 

 appearance. 



I need not enumerate the articles of ordinary furniture neces- 

 sary for a ward, but would recommend that each two adjoining 

 wards should be provided with a portable bath, and each ward of 

 moderate size, one or two large reclining chairs of simple con- 

 struction, for the use of patients when too weak to sit upright ; 

 also a wheel chair in which they can be taken into the verandah. 

 One lifting bedstead should be provided for each fifty patients, 

 and a rope should be suspended from the ceiling, over the centre 



