The Main Ward Block in 1994

1994 was the year that the Main Ward Block of the N&N Hospital had been standing for 20 years and in use for 19 years.

On the 26th January 1994, Norwich North MP John Garrett spoke in the House Of Commons in Westminster, London about the current N&N Hospital and the conditions, saying the 20 year old Main Block had unreliable lifts and stated the fact that windows had fallen out of the towerblock in the past, and the operating theatres floors flooded with sewage in storms, and to repair the hospital would be about £50 million, thus making the project to build a new hospital very much needed. This speech was given after a inspection of the hospital in late 1993.

Events relating to the building in 1994
Prev year in existence - The Main Ward Block in 1993
 * While the Main Ward Block was to remain in use for several more years to come, in January 1994, a local MP noted how the towerblock was being pushed beyond its design limits and had unreliable and inadequate lifts, the operating theatres on the ground floor were poorly lit and the fact a window of the towerblock had fallen onto the engineering area a year or so before and all other 500 windows had to be checked. Also he noted the kitchens had poor ventilation and no natural light due to being surrounded by other rooms and corridors.
 * In January 1994, a N&N Hospital chief executive, Richard Drew, did The London Marathon and was pictured practicing for it in the Eastern Daily Press in a pathway near the car park outside the Main Ward Block. The MWB was seen in the background of the photo.
 * On the 28th January 1994, the Eastern Daily Press stated that Norwich MP John Garrett had said the current hospital was quite obsolete but there was still debate as to whether thew new hospital at Colney would be built.
 * In August 1994, staff and patients would have watched from the upper floors of the Main Block as the Norwich Central Library was on fire due to an electrical fault.
 * The autumn of 1994 was 20 years since the MWB was first completed.
 * In October 1994 another Outline Business Case was submitted by the Norwich Health Authority. They proposed a smaller hospital and funded by a private sector. The Main Ward Block was by then 20 years old.

Next year in existence - The Main Ward Block in 1995

Gallery
Yes, another tour of the N&N Hospital in early January 1994, cold wintry but sunny day, 2 hours before darkness falls at 4:30pm.