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Royal National Hospital, Ventnor, Isle of Wight

Medical Superintendent: ALEXANDER MILLER, M.R.C.P.

The hospital was founded in 1867 with 20 beds, as a voluntary hospital with a Board of Gov- ernors: by donations it was gradually expanded and came under Royal patronage. By I939 there were I67 patients each in a single room. Owing to the demands of the Emergency Medical Service two patients had to share a room during the war; this policy proved suc- cessful and has been continued. There are now 23I patients in double-bedded rooms, with a few single-bedded rooms.

The hospital buildings extend over a quarter of a mile continuously, facing south and over- looking the Channel. The grounds run down to the cliffs. Constant modernization has kept the buildings up to date, adding food lifts, passenger lifts, Esse cookers, etc. The numerous sitting rooms are centrally heated and each room is wired for radio programmes and internal broad- casts. There is a large library and 'talkie' films are shown weekly. There are two billiards tables and a flourishing hospital shop. A modern theatre was built in I928 and up till the war thoracoplasties were carried out; since then patients have been transferred for this operation but it is hoped to restart major surgery soon.

The x-ray department was enlarged and re- equipped in I933 and 194I , and recently a

tomograph apparatus has been added. 3,500 x-rays were taken last year, every patient being x-rayed monthly.

A nurses' home was built in 1924 and this year a large private house has been acquired for use as a night nurses' home. There are 48 mlrses on the staff, including State Registered nurses. The hospital is an affiliated training school under the General Nursing Council and nurses are trained for the Tuberculosis Certificate.

The importance of bed rest for all cases showing evidence of activity is insisted upon, both in those cases treated conservatively and those for whom collapse therapy is needed. Collapse therapy is widely used; last year 452 patients were discharged, of whom 2o 7 had arti- ficial pneumothorax attempted, 137 being main- tained. Forty-six phrenic nerve operations were carried out and thoracoscopy was undertaken in 196 cases. Pneumoperitoneum was added to diaphragmatic paralysis in 26 cases.

The Consulting staff consists of five physicians, from the staffs of the London Teaching hospitals or Chest hospitals, two thoracic surgeons, and a consulting radiologist. A dental surgeon attends weekly. The resident staff consists of two medical officers in addition to the Medical Superin- tendem-