Isolation pavilion. This is a small detached block across the court from the maternity block. It has accommodation for eight beds for patients; these are usually fully occupied. It is subdivided as follows:-Four beds in one ward, where patients are not seriously ill (frequently used for "suspects"); one room for two beds (10 ft. by 18 ft.): two rooms for one bed. In this isolation building the floors are all tiled, the corners are all rounded, and the furniture is of the simplest design. There is a bathroom, nurses' room, linen-room, ward kitchen, and small, fully equipped operating-room. Nurses' sleeping-rooms are above the wards, and the staff consists of— One trained head nurse, who may be called night or day (if required), one midwife, one trained nurse, one porter. The staff in this isolation block don't go near the maternity block; they get their food sent to them from the general kitchen. All the mattresses and linen of this department are specially marked, and are not allowed to mix with the general maternity linen.

Disinfection and laundry arrangements.-There is a detached building at the back of the maternity block for disinfection. It consists of a receiving-room for all mattresses, &c., which have been in use; they are treated in a Lyon's disinfector, and passed out on the other side of the disinfector to the receiving-room for disinfected goods. The disinfector is so arranged that each mattress has a separate stage for itself, and it never comes into direct contact with any other goods. In the disinfection block there is a small laboratory and museum for the maternity department, and the doctor in charge of the isolation department seems to attend to this, and carry out the investigations under the direction of the visiting physician.

Laundry arrangements.-So far as could be learned, all the linen from the different maternity hospitals in Paris are washed in a separate laundry at some distance from the hospital, but the linen from the isolation blocks are treated separately.

The special features of this hospital are:-1. The care taken in the examination of patients previous to admission to the general maternity wards. 2. The complete isolation and treatment of the suspicious and septic cases; not only are these cases treated in a separate detached pavilion, but there is a separate staff of nurses who are never allowed to mix with the nurses of the maternity department. 3. The thorough disinfection of each mattress after use seemed to be systematically carried out. There was nothing specially worthy of note in the bathroom and lavatory fittings. The baths are

nearly all portable, made of white metal, but somewhat small in size. The w.c.s have not complete cross ventilation, which is a drawback. There is only one lift, and when we visited it was not in working order, necessitating the patients being carried in the arms of a porter to and from the labour-room. There is no special room for the bathing of children. The examination-room is also used for return cases; it might be better to have two smaller rooms and keep one entirely for the patients who are to be admitted to the wards, as outpatients returning might be a source of infection. entrance bathroom is badly placed, and is much too small for the purpose. It is a small room under the main staircase.

PARIS: MATERNITY DE BOUCICAUT.

The

The Boucicaut is a comparatively new general hospital of 280 beds. The maternity department has 45 beds, with a separate entrance from the street, and is a completely detached pavilion, having a small pavilion for septic maternity cases. In the maternity department there is a good waiting-hall, an examination-room with fixed in basins; adjoining the examination-room there is a large bathroom, with two baths, one portable. The labour-room is specially well lit, having two large circular windows occupying nearly the whole wall space on either side of the room. The labour-room is 36 ft. square; it has four beds, with white enamel brick partition running up its centre, and a glass top. The heads of the beds are placed towards the partition and the foot towards the window, giving a splendid light on the patient. There are set-in basins on side wall with foot plugs, and a small room adjoining for sterilisers there is also a bathroom at other side of labourroom. A small room near labour-room, fitted up like a small operating-room, is used for minor and plastic operations. There is a ward with six beds and another with four beds for patients waiting till labour comes on. The maternity pavilion is much the same as the general pavilion. The wards have arched roofs, floors are tiled, and wall cement and painted with enamel paint.

In corridor at entrance to wards there is:-(1) Nurses-room, (2) day-room where convalescents take food, (3) side-room with one bed, (4) visiting physician's room with washhand basin, (5) w.c. and sluice-room (with no through ventilation), (6) washhand basin in one room and portable bath in another, (7) linen-room. These rooms are all placed in corridor at entrance to wards, and as there is no window at end of this corridor, it is not only dark, but ventilation is imperfect.

There is a separate room for a wet nurse, and incubator room. There are some small wards for three beds, and some for one bed, in this pavilion. The wards are heated by hot-water pipes, no fires in wards.

Isolation pavilion for septic maternity cases contains twelve beds. It is subdivided into small wards, with two beds in each, leading off a well lit corridor. This pavilion is complete in itself, with a separate operating-room. All beds are disinfected after use in a Lyon's disinfector, and there is a destructor attached to the general heating flue.

There is no separate kitchen, post-mortem room, or mortuary for this department, and the soiled linen is treated in a similar manner to that of the Beaujon already described.

PARIS: MATERNITY BAUDELOCQUE.

There is an examination-room near entrance. Adjoining examination-room is a large bathroom, with two fixed baths and a sitz bath. There are 120 beds in the midwifery and gynecological department of this hospital. The large wards have eighteen beds-seven wards with two beds, four wards with one bed. There are two baths on each flat. The ground flat has admission-rooms, bathrooms, head nurses and doctors' rooms. The first flat is used for midwifery, and has a large labour-room, with sixteen beds, fitted up with fixed washhand basins, &c. There is a special room for bathing children, with fixed baths on wall, towel warmer, &c., and the floor and walls are tiled. There is also a special room on this floor for douching mothers. The wards and rooms are heated entirely by radiators, there are no open fires. At the end of the wards there are fixed basins. On the flat above, the gynæcological cases are accommodated, and the labour-room is used for an operating-room.

The isolation department of this hospital is on the top flat of the building, entered by a separate staircase leading off the main corridor. It has ten beds in all small wards, some for two beds, but the majority are for one bed only. It has a separate operating-room.

The maternity linen in this hospital is treated in the same way as the other maternity hospitals in Paris. The wards for maternity cases are too large. The labour-room with sixteen beds is much too large. The isolation block is imperfectly cut off. The arrangement for the bathing of children is an improvement on the other two hospitals visited, and the admission department is well arranged.

BASLE FRAUENSPITAL.

This hospital, which was built in 1896, is for the treatment of maternity and gynæcological patients. It consists of five storeys-a partly sunk flat, a ground flat, two flats for wards, and attics. It is built on three sides of a square, and provides accommodation for thirty-four maternity patients and thirtysix gynæcological patients.

In the basement flat there is a house of three rooms and a kitchen for the engineer and fireman who attends to the heating, lighting, and ventilating plant. The heating boilers, disinfecting apparatus, laundry, kitchen, and stores are all accommodated on this flat. There is a separate washhouse for septic linen. There is at the back of the centre of the building an auditorium, with ante-room auditorium, with ante-room and bathroom attached, for the examination of patients; from this level there are two lifts, one large enough to take in a bed, and another for taking up food, &c.

At the main entrance on ground floor we find a porter's room; to the left is the general office, and two rooms with five beds each, and a day-room for cases waiting on for delivery. On passing through swing doors we come to the side wing, which on this flat accommodates the polyclinic; this has a separate entrance from the street, and consists of waiting-room, consulting-rooms, and an assistant's room. This assistant's duties consist of attending to the out-patients and the isolation of septic cases. These septic cases are accommodated in this wing above the polyclinic, and here are twelve beds for septic cases, with operating-room. To the right of the main entrance we have the laboratory, chief assistant's room, and lecture-room, and in the wing which goes off at right angles we have accommodation for ironing-room of laundry and domestic servants.

On passing up a wide stone staircase we reach the first floor, which has a corridor 10 ft. wide, extending from end to end, and opening off this corridor are wards for patients. In this corridor are linen-presses, but this does not seem a good arrangement, as they collect dust on top. On both sides there are two wards with six beds, and a nurse's room between. In the wing to the left is the isolation department for midwifery; there are two wards-one for four beds and another for two beds, with bath, w.c., and nurses' accommodation, and small operating-room. The wing to the right is used for private patients. At the corner of the building is a large labour-room and sterilising-room, also a children's