Annual report : 1948/49 / Wigan and Leigh Hospital Management Committee.

  • Wigan and Leigh Hospital Management Committee.
Date:
1949
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report : 1948/49 / Wigan and Leigh Hospital Management Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    22/44 (page 18)
    42. The allocation of beds at the 5th July, 1948, was as follows Acute General . ... 408 Chronic Sick . ... 360 Maternity . ... 56 Mental. ... 196 Infectious Diseases . ... 238 Tuberculosis . ... 28 1,286 43. As mentioned previously, the Hospital Management Committee considered that certain wards at the Astley Hospital could be conveniently allocated for use as children’s wards. The Board could not agree to this proposal and for a time the position remained dormant but after further approaches, the Board have very recently agreed to a ward at Astley Hos¬ pital being allotted for surgical cases and a proposal to use a further ward for Tuberculous patients is undergoing examination. There is a first-class fully-equipped operating theatre at the Astley Hospital. 44. The Committee also placed before the Board their proposal to use the Ashton-in-Makerfield Hospital for chronic sick patients, but this scheme was also rejected by the Board. Further consideration resulted In an alternative scheme for utilising the hospital as a continuation hospital for maternity patients from Billinge, where patients are frequently discharged within a short period after confinement. It is pleasing to report that the Board are favourable towards this revised scheme and it is hoped that before very long these new arrangements will be in opera¬ tion. The two developments just mentioned are strictly outside the period of this report, but are referred to here to show that some progress has been made in this direction. Certain other proposals affecting the bed states at Wigan and Leigh Hospitals have received the Committee’s attention during the year, and are referred to in the following paragraphs. 45. A scheme for extending the operating theatre suite at Wigan Infirmary (initiated by the late Board of Management but now modified to meet changed conditions) has been approved by the Regional Board in its first stage. The scheme involves the demolition of the Crawford and Lancaster Ward block, the outer shell of which is badly fractured, but incorporates a new ward block of 34 beds. The work will be carried out in four stages, the first of which is the erection of a covered way between the existing Red Cross Ward and the Christopher Home, at an estimated cost of £11,000. Stage 2 provides the new ward block, and Stage 3 the demolition of Crawford and Lancaster Wards and the provision of an additional operating theatre. The fourth stage of the scheme will be the erection of a permanent building for re-housing the Orthopaedic Department and Re-habilitation centre. It is estimated that the complete scheme will cost £150,000. 46. A scheme is being prepared for the erection of a maternity unit of 100 beds adjacent to Billinge Hospital. In its present form it is anticipated that this new hospital unit will be separately administered except for general services such as heating, lighting, catering, laundry, etc., which could be provided very conveniently by the main hospital. This scheme is being examined by the Regional Hospital Board. A number