John Pendlebury Extension: Salford and Pendleton Royal Hospital and Dispensary

SALFORD AND PENDLETON ROYAL HOSPITAL AND DISPENSARY. EXTENSION OF THE BUILDING. The committee of this institution have had their attention drawn to the fact that the accommodation for hospital patients is greatly deficient for the requirements of the borough. It frequently happens that when patients suffering from accidents or other causes are brought to the hospital they cannot be received, as all the beds in the wards are occupied, and although belonging to Salford and the neighbourhood, they have be sent elsewhere for succour and relief. This insufficiency was prominently brought to their notice by the receipt of a manifesto prepared by the honorary medical staff —a digest of which was printed in the last annual report —showing that Salford was at the lowest scale in its provision for the medical and surgical cases compared with any of the towns in Lancashire or Cheshire. At their last annual meeting the board were encouraged to take the necessary steps to remedy this deficiency, and to provide beds at the least in the enlarged hospital. Accordingly they selected four architects familiar with hospital work, and invited them to submit plans suitable for the space of land adjoining the existing hospital Adelphi-street, which was secured some years ago by purchase from the late Earl of Derby and Mr. George Holland Ackers. The plans have been delivered by the architects, and are now exhibited in the board room of the institution and are open for the inspection of any of the subscribers to the charity. The instructions to the architects state that additional accommodation is to be provided for at least 50 in-patients, irrespective of isolation wards; that each ward must have independent communication with the rest of the building; that operating theatre is required which is to be well lighted from the top and sides; an accident room is to be erected on the ground floor, convenient of access from the street; outpatients' department must be provided, consisting of one large waiting-room capable of seating 150 persons; the dispensary must be partitioned off from the waiting-room, with convenience for handing the medicines to the patients; two wards for infections cases are to be provided completely isolated from the main building, and access to these wards must be by separate entrance. The committee wished it be understood that any plan the carrying out of which would involve a cost exceeding £6,000 would consequence of such extra cost be liable to rejection. The building committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. N. Shelmerdine, to whom was remitted the duty of examining and reporting on the several sets of plans, consisted of three members of the honorary medical board and six members of the general board. They have held frequent meetings during the last two months, with a view to secure the best possible structure on the space land their disposal, and finally they recommend to the general committee for selection the plans bearing the motto or letters "Q. E. D." At the meeting of the board on Wednesday, the recommendation was 'adopted. On opening the sealed envelopes the name of Mr. Henry Lord, John Dalton-street, Manchester, was found to be the author of the plans marked Q. E. D. [Manchester Courier 3 October 1884 page 5].

The corner stone of the new building in connection with Salford and Pendleton Royal Hospital was laid on Saturday by Mr N Shelmerdine, treasurer of the Institution. .... The extensive additions and alterations now being made will materially improve the working arrangements of the hospital and add very considerably to its accommodation. So far as the existing building and the site have permitted the additions have been designed on the lines of the pavilion system. A series of one storey wards, which constitute the most perfect development of this system, was impossible in the available ground, and the arrangements have therefore taken the form of one long pavilion along Adelphi Street, at right angles to the front block, and in this the wards are superimposed one upon another, and to the sides of the wards, facing nearly east and west is secured the fullest amount of sunshine and air that Salford can provide. In the present building considerable re-arrangement will be made and an additional storey placed upon the central block. The present dispensary and out-patients department will be converted into a ward for 18 beds, while the medical and children’s wards are to be utilised for sleeping accommodation for nursing staff and the servants. The administrative department will be confined to the front block, and entirely separated from the wards, which are approached by a corridor in the rear. Along Adelphi Place will be the new out-patients’ department, dispensary and accident room. The residence for the accident surgeon is placed conveniently for his duties at the junction of Adelphi Street and Adelphi Place. The operating room is placed in a central position on the second floor, where it can be readily approached from any ward, and uninterrupted light and privacy are secured. The additional building contains five wards for ordinary medical and surgical cases, two private wards and two isolation wards for cases which may arise in any hospital, and whose influence, while not prejudicial to healthy people, might be extremely dangerous in its effects upon surgical patients. The new wards provide for 68 patients, and, with the re-arrangement of the existing building, will raise the entire accommodation to 116 beds. The external appearance of the new building will be in harmony with the existing portion, and all interior arrangements are to be carried out with materials best fitted for the purpose to which the building is devoted. The building is being erected by Messrs Southern and Sons, from the designs of Mr Henry Lord, architect, which were selected in a limited competition. [Manchester Guardian 20 July 1885 page 6]

Reference    Manchester Courier 3 October 1884 page 5]
Reference    Manchester Guardian 3 October 1884 page 8
Reference    Manchester Guardian 27 November 1884 page 3
Reference    Manchester Guardian 20 July 1885 page 6 - foundation stone