091322 140 year history - A4 landscape v1 digital - Flipbook - Page 26
1886
Male Surgical Ward
The design of Prince Alfred Hospital incorporated
the latest international ideas on the role of
architecture in the improvement of health. Its main
wards, called ‘Nightingale wards’, were long rooms
with well-spaced beds arranged along the sides.
They featured large windows on either side that
allowed cross-ventilation and plenty of natural
light. Another advantage was that nurses could
observe many patients at the same time. Of course,
patients did not get much privacy although there
was a mosquito curtain attached to a bracket that
could be drawn over a bed in summer.
Image from the Knox family papers, State Library of NSW
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