091322 140 year history - A4 landscape v1 digital - Flipbook - Page 41
1906
Outpatients Hall
The hospital was now called Royal Prince Alfred
after the ‘Royal’ prefix was added in 1903. The
waiting-hall for outpatients was downstairs in
the Administration Block. It was a busy place and
probably noisy. People sat there until they were
called to a medical officer’s consulting room – there
was one for women and another for men. Close by
was the ante-room of the dispensary where the
outpatients would go after seeing the doctor and
wait for their prescription. In 1906 the hospital’s
board decided that, except in cases of extreme
poverty, outpatients must pay for their medicines.
The charge was 3d (3 cents) for the supply of a
medicine, but it cost extra if the patient did not
bring an empty bottle with them to exchange.
RPA Museum Image Collection
41