Photos: H. Oberli
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The need: At the time the hospital was planned (early nineties), an outpatient clinic for orthopaedic-traumatic patients was simply forgotten. Since the operating room for fractures was not suitable for its originally intended purpose anyway, it was converted into an outpatient clinic. The room is used for pre- and post-operation examination of patients, as the only cast room in the hospital, and for minor operations. Therefore all outpatients have to enter the operating area, thereby interfering with operations and reducing asepsis. At certain times conditions almost require a traffic controller. The project: The new Fracture Clinic will be built in an unused courtyard and adjoin the existing radiology department. The courtyard is in a very bad shape and nothing to be proud of. Floor tiles were not properly fixed and are coming loose, water taps are leaking and water is continuously running into the yard, which increasingly silts up, and many visitors seem to regard the yard as a waste dump. The Fracture Clinic will cover about half of the yard's area. The building will be 12 x 6 meters in size, for the time being the inside will be partitioned with curtains. This allows to quickly convert the building into an auxiliary operating room. This could be necessary any time, since the operating rooms built in 1994 (as part of a Taiwanese project) are in a very bad condition and may all of a sudden have to be rebuilt completeley. The costs were estimated to be around CHF 80'000. The Ministry of Health has approved the project. A building permit has to be obtained from Honiara City Council. Start of construction mid-January, estimated time to build four months. An inedependent local architectural firm was selected as a consultant, will supervise the construction, and handle financial tranactions with the contractors. Dr. Oberli aims the Fracture Clinic to be the best quality building on the hospital campus!
Realization: 17.12.01 Closing date for tenders. Five tenders ranging from CHF 60'000 to CHF 100'000 have come in. The architectural firm is now expected to make recommendations as to who should get the contract. 28.01.02 Dr. Oberli writes: The Fracture Clinic is under construction and proceeds at an amazing rate. They even worked on Saturday. It is interesting to see the difference between a private enterprise and the public service I have to deal with every day.
13.02.02
01.03.02 The bare brickwork is finished. This was celebrated with a small topping-out ceremony. 
12.03.02 Never mind the rainy season, the building proceeds at a fast pace.
23.03.02
16.04.02 Dr. Oberli writes: We hope to have a small opening ceremony in about two weeks time. It is definitely the best looking building on the hospital campus.
06.05.02 Opening Ceremony 
Click on picture to read inscription. Dr. Oberli writes: The Hon. Minister of Health officially opened the new Fracture Clinic today. SIBC (the local radio) and "Solomon Star" (the local newspaper) will report about it soon. 16.06.02 "Solomon Star" reports about the Fracture Clinic
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