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  /  Expert Opinion   /  Healthcare design for user health and wellbeing

Healthcare design for user health and wellbeing

Text: Manoj Choudhury, Director, Edifice Consultants, Mumbai

Designing the environment is strategic to shaping the future of healthcare, as they are not simply buildings that accommodate modern technology to treat diseases. We must design healthcare facilities that support the future healthcare workforce and meet medical challenges. We must maintain a progressive outlook on the transforming paradigms to enhance the quality of spaces, which includes interaction through diverse spatial configurations for patient-centric and client-centric delivery.

A positive distraction is created through landscaping, art installation, colours and natural light to reduce anxiety and stress levels. It reduces the staff’s mental fatigue, which enhances their caregiving capability. Healthcare facilities are guided by permissible limits of clinical and functional requirements mandated by the Joint Commission International (JCI) and the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH). Hospitals are highly sterile spaces that require stringent control and germ and bacterial contamination for the visitors, caregivers and patients’ wellbeing.

In most hospitals, the average space per bed ranges from 500 sq. ft. in tier-two and 1000 sq. ft. in tier-three cities. We aim to create 1200 sq. ft. to 1500 sq. ft. per bed space, which is guided by the quality of natural light and ventilation in the In-Patient Department, operation theatres, lounges and breakrooms. Healthcare design considers patients, caregivers and visitors which is why emergency wards, OPD and IPD must reflect the constant flow of patients. For example, controlled OPD pods for doctor consultations and diagnosis must accommodate a 6:1 patient-doctor ratio to minimise interaction.

Complex environments such as hospitals are confusing to navigate, which is why design must maintain timeliness, efficiency and minimal dependency. Corridors measure eight feet across the facility and the mandated five feet distance between beds form part of the guidelines laid by the NABH. Checkpoints restrict visitor movement, reception areas, cafeterias with vending machines and counselling rooms limit excessive activity.

Hospitals have long lifespans, during which rooms are transformed into spaces for clinical methodologies, equipment usage and operational usage. In the post-pandemic world, hospitals are expected to shift from a clinical environment to a homely experience with facilities for each user group. Health workers and caregivers have breakrooms, lounges and cabins that are well-lit and well-ventilated to boost productivity. On the other hand, patients want a homelike experience as they spend time in the wards and be protected from exposure to contamination. Thus, hospitals are now designed to maintain well-being, positivity and health.