Hong Kong Regulations

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SEAFARERS) (CREW ACCOMMODATION) REGULATION - SECT 35

Hospitals

(1) Every ship with a crew of 15 or more seafarers which is intended to be at
sea on any occasion for a continuous period of more than 3 days shall be
provided with a permanent hospital for the crew. The hospital shall not at any
time be used for any purpose other than the treatment of sick seafarers.

(2) In every other ship (except one in which all officers and ratings have
single berth sleeping rooms) a suitable room shall be appropriated for use, in
case of need, as a temporary hospital. When that room is in use as a temporary
hospital it shall not be used for any purpose other than the treatment of sick
seafarers.

(3) Every hospital, whether permanent or temporary, shall be so situated that
it is as quiet and comfortable as possible and is readily accessible in all
weathers-

   (a)  from the sleeping room of the member of the crew who is, and is
        employed as, a duly qualified doctor or a qualified nurse; or

   (b)  if no such doctor or nurse is carried, from the master's
        accommodation.

(4) The minimum width of the entrance to any permanent hospital shall where
practicable be 760 millimetres; and every hospital, whether permanent or
temporary, shall be so situated and arranged that a stretcher can be easily
carried into it and placed alongside at least one single tier bed.

(5) Every permanent hospital shall be provided with at least one bed for every
50 or fraction of 50 members of the crew.

(6) At least one bed in every permanent hospital shall be a single tier bed,
and shall wherever practicable be so placed that it is accessible from both
sides and from the foot.

(7) If double tier beds are provided in a hospital the upper tier shall be
either hinged or removable.

(8) The minimum inside dimensions of every bed in a permanent hospital shall
be adequate to accommodate mattresses of a size 1.98 metres by 800
millimetres; in all other respects beds in permanent hospitals shall comply
with the requirements set out in section 22.

(9) Any room in a permanent hospital in which a bed is placed (in
this section called the "ward") shall, unless it is served by an air 
conditioning system or a trunked mechanical ventilation system, be fitted with
an electric fan.

(10) All sidescuttles and windows in the ward, and all skylights therein which
are exposed to the direct rays of the sun shall be provided with curtains or
blinds.

(11) Every permanent hospital, even if served by an air  conditioning system
or a trunked mechanical ventilation system, shall be provided in addition with
a natural system of inlet and exhaust ventilation to the open air independent
of any ventilators provided for other parts of the ship and complying with the
requirements of section  16 (5).

(12) Any radiator in the ward shall be fitted as far away from the head of any
bed as is practicable.

(13) Every permanent hospital shall be provided with a portable electrical
lamp in addition to the lighting required by section 15. The lamp shall be
capable of emitting 600 lumens.

(14) The following items of equipment shall be provided for each bed in the
hospital ward, and shall be within reach of that bed-

   (a)  a locker approximately 305 millimetres square by 610 millimetres high,
        fitted with a flat top and a shelf;

   (b)  a water bottle;

   (c)  a tumbler; and

   (d)  an electric bell-push communicating with the sleeping room of the
        doctor, nurse or other seafarer in charge of the patient.

(15) The following items of equipment shall be provided in every ward-

   (a)  seats adequate in number having regard to the number of beds in the
        ward;

   (b)  a clothes locker (additional to any lockers provided pursuant to
        subsection (14)(a)) complying with the requirements of section  23
        (2)(a)(i); and

   (c)  a box cover to conceal a bed-pan.

(16) A washbasin of a suitable size and with hot and cold water laid on to it
shall be fitted in every permanent hospital either in the ward or in a
bathroom in washing accommodation in the hospital.

(17) In ships of 5000 tons or over a bath of suitable size shall be fitted in
washing accommodation in the hospital.

(18) Every washbasin or bath in a permanent hospital shall comply with the
requirements of section 28(11) and, where practicable, except in ships
provided with a collecting tank or sewage plant, the discharge system shall be
separate from any other discharge system in the ship. A scupper at least 50
millimetres in diameter shall be fitted in the lowest part of any room in a
hospital in which a bath is fitted and in any room in which a basin is fitted
unless that room is the ward.

(19) A water closet pedestal and the other items specified in section 28(24)
shall be fitted in every permanent hospital either in a separate closet or in
washing accommodation in the hospital.

(20) Access to the water closet or, if the water closet pedestal is fitted in
washing accommodation, access to that washing accommodation shall be obtained
either directly from the ward or from a lobby within the hospital. The door to
that water closet or washing accommodation shall open outwards and any door
catch fitted to it shall be capable of being opened from the outside.

(21) The water closet or other room in which the water closet pedestal is
fitted shall, unless it is served by a trunked mechanical exhaust ventilation
system which effectively removes the odours from it, be provided with a
gastight self-closing door.

(22) All washbasins, baths, showers and water closets fitted in a hospital
shall comply with the requirements of section 28(11), (20), (24) and (25).

(23) In passenger ships, one hospital may be provided to serve both crew and
passengers. In such a case separate male and, except where there are no female
members of the crew, female wards and sanitary accommodation shall be provided
for the exclusive use of the crew.

(24) The floor covering in every permanent hospital shall, so far as is
practicable, be free from joins. (Enacted 1995)