38 Tlie Hospital Requirements of Sydney. 



should be less than it is in a central hospital, and the same prin- 

 ciples of construction will, to a great extent, hold good in both. 

 I shall therefore consider it accepted, that the one establish- 

 ment may be a compound hospital, consisting of two departments — 

 1st, for convalescing patients ; 2nd, for chronic cases ; and that 

 each of them should be divided into male and female quarters. 



The requirements of the department for convalescents will be — 

 abundance of fresh air, with ample space for exercise and light 

 occupation, good diet, repose, and, to a great extent, the substitu- 

 tion of quarters having more the character of a home than a 

 hospital. 



The chronic cases should be arranged in wards of moderate 

 dimensions, placed in detached pavilions, of not more than two 

 floors, and should have some of the characters and fitting of a 

 central hospital, but they need not be of so complete or expensiv e 

 a nature. The limit of two floors is recommended, because land 

 is less valauble in the country than in the locality of a central 

 hospital, and for the reason that patients suffering from chronic 

 disease, or in the convalescing stage of recovery from acute disease, 

 are capable of availing themselves more freely of exercise in the 

 recreation ground. Both departments should be fitted with earth 

 closets throughout. A resident medical officer and dispenser will 

 be required for the entire establishment, and occasional visits 

 should be paid by members of the staff of the central hospital. 



Invalid carriages, of proper construction, would be required to 

 convey the patients from the central hospital, by railway, to the 

 convalescent establishment. 



I doubt if our experience of convalescent hospitals is sufficient 

 at the present time to enable us to speak positively as to the 

 exact form which they should take. Miss Nightingale is decid- 

 edly in favour of detached cottages, and she gives a plan of one 

 upon this principle, which was to be built in the county of Wilts. 

 This appears to me to be excellent as far as it goes, but to be un- 

 necessarily ornamental and elaborate, especially for a young 

 country where the expense of building is very great. A second 

 specimen represented in her work is that of the male convalescent 

 hospital at Yincennes. This is a most ingeniously arranged 

 structure, and one upon which much thought has been expended. 

 It is, moreover, said to be successful, after four years' working. 

 From these instances, and a careful consideration of the class of 

 potients to be accommodated, the nature of the climate, &c, it 

 will not be difficult to elaborate designs for such a hospital as 

 that indicated ; and I need not, therefore, trouble the society 

 with further suggestions upon this branch of our subject. 



The grounds of a general hospital are an important feature of 

 the establishment, and the manner in which they are kept is 

 usually a sure indication of the administration within. 



