Twenty-sixth annual report of the Belfast District Hospital for the Insane Poor of the counties of Antrim and Down, and the county of the town of Carrickfergus : from the 1st April, 1855, to the 31st March, 1856.

  • Belfast District Hospital for the Insane.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Twenty-sixth annual report of the Belfast District Hospital for the Insane Poor of the counties of Antrim and Down, and the county of the town of Carrickfergus : from the 1st April, 1855, to the 31st March, 1856. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ) j but the Commissioners having given but a day’s notice of their I intended arrival, and, besides, not having specified the hour at I which they would attend here, it was, of course, impossible to summon a Board to meet them, and the cause of which they were informed of at the time of their visit. Some hours were spent, by the Commissioners—accompanied by Mr. Lanyon, C.E., the Go¬ vernment architect of the additional wings—in examining, with much minuteness, the whole Institution, more especially the new buildings, with which, on the whole, the Commissioners ap¬ peared pleased. They, however, very strongly condemned the arrangements made by the Board of Public Works in the con¬ struction of the water-closets throughout the building, which have been so planned as to economise the consumption of water to a minimum amount—a plan which, it is now unquestionable, | will never answer the purpose, self-acting Avater-closets being i alone suitable for these Institutions. The cast metal window- I sashes were, also, considered very objectionable ^in their con- | struction. Indeed, as regards these latter—^.e., the cast metal sashes in the new building—they are another serious source of constant annoyance and discomfort, not a tithe of them acting I satisfactorily in the important matter of opening and closing, | and few, if any, being water-tight. To elean them is, simply, I impossible, except at the risk of life or limb from the out- | side ; and how much dirty windows detract from the appear- i I ance and general effect of any building, [need not be stated. I To renew panes, too, when broken, is a most dangerous under- : j taking, the glazing having to be done from wfithout instead of | ' within—an inconvenience which could quite easily have been provided against in the first instance. It was, certainly, very I unfortunate that wooden sashes were not adopted, and that pro- | vision was not made to clean and glaze the windows from within. | ; The Board of Works, however, afibrded no opportunity of any I opinion being given, or suggestion made, on these points, but followed out entirely their own previously-arranged plans, with¬ out reference to any party on the spot. ACCOMMODATION, PRESENT AND FUTURE. The number of patients now in the house being 308, the addi-