Very Interesting!
I didn’t realise that an actual designated enema room/bathroom was purposely built into hospitals (or at least some hospitals).
This question caught my attention because I have worked in hospitals for over 17 years and have never seen one. But I’m living and working in 21st century Australia, and if these kinds of rooms did ever exist down-under, and I believe they did, because our healthcare model resembles that of UK and Europe more so than the US one, then they certainly would have disappeared decades ago, probably when the ones in the UK did.
When my wife gave birth to our two sons in 2005 and 2008, she was not given (or offered) any enemas. So, in Australia, the practice of administering enemas to expectant mothers had ended sometime prior.
Also, when I was hospitalised in 1980 for two surgeries, much to my surprise I was not given any. So, in Australis, it seems that the practice of administering pre-op enemas had ended sometime before 1980.
But, the main reason why this question caught my attention is because when I was hospitalised in Italy during the 1980s, I was given pre-op enemas. (I have discussed some of my experiences in my posts - feel free to read). And, only 1 out of those 8 enemas was administered at my bedside.
Regarding the 7 that were not given to me in at my bedside, the first one in my life (probably because it was my first experience), was given to me in an examination room. The other 6 were administered in what looked like a standard bathroom, fitted with a hand basin, bathtub, and perhaps also a shower cubicle and also a toilet which we would not have been allowed to use. I do not recall this bathroom ever containing a bed or any enema paraphernalia, besides the already prepared enema equipment suspender via an IV stand, along with the two female nurses tasked with administering enemas to me and the other boy patients.
Thus, I can’t say that this hospital (or hospital ward) had an actual designated enema room/bathroom as such. I believe that this standard bathroom was employed as a virtual enema room/bathroom when required. Perhaps, due to this fact, it may help to explain why this bathroom was strategically located at one end of the corridor of the hospital floor, and the patient’s toilets located 100 meters at the opposite end of the corridor. I guess those nurses wanted us boys to have a good walk before using the toilet.