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Hospital Design: The Challenges

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Hospital Design: The Challenges
In the world of design, hospitality design is arguable the most challenging. With so many factors to consider and so many moving parts it can prove to be a real test of your design skills.
 
Luckily, we have created a list of things to factor into your hospital design process to make the whole process run much smoother.
 

Preparation

Fail to prepare and prepare to fail is a saying that sums up hospital design perfectly. Planning a hospital requires an immense amount of preparation and planning.
 
Think of a hospital as a car engine or a theme park with lots of different moving parts all working in synergy together if one piece isn’t working correctly then everything comes to a halt.
 

Hire an expert

You cannot put a price on experience so the best way to ensure your project is successful is to hire a facility planning manager. These people are experts in their field and will act as an industry adviser who can help with the more complicated elements of the hospital design process.
 
In addition, they can also speed up the entire process saving you and your team valuable time.
 

Synergy

As we touched on earlier there are a number or elements that come into play when dealing with hospitality design.
 
All these parts have to work in unison to allow the hospital to flow in a state of synergy.
 
When designing your hospital, you will want to consider the following elements:
 

Location

You ideally want to keep the travel distances to a minimum where possible.
 

Signs

As hospitals tend to take up a lot of real estate it can become very easy for people to get lost having clear signage will help reduce any issued for hospital visitors.
 

Parking

Due to the sheer number of visitors that tend to visit a hospital onsite parking is a must ideally you want this to be conveniently located near the entrance of the hospital and if this is not possible then you may have to consider a shuttle service to get guests from the parking facilities to the entrance.
 

Patient requirements

As hospitals tend to receive two different types of visitor’s inpatients and outpatients you will want to consider the probable locations of each department. Typically, inpatients are located deeper inside the hospital as this means that their wards would typically experience less foot traffic and therefore less less disturbance.
 

Special requirements

As you are probably aware everyone requires access to a hospital facility so as part of your hospital design you will wan to ensure that you make allowances for visitors with special access requirements.
 
For example, you will have to strategically position wheelchair access ramps at enough locations around the hospital to give the same ease of access to everyone.
 
Within the hospital you will have to install elevator systems to transport passengers between floors that cannot use stairs.
 
And finally, if you are opening a hospital in an area that experiences a lot of helicopter-based rescues then you will require a helipad to receive these patients.
 

Public areas

A common mistake amongst hospital designers is forgetting to utilize public spaces.
 
Take for example the reception area this is one of the first things any visitor to a hospital will see so the space should be open and inviting.
 
After users pass reception, they will normally move via corridors to a waiting room. As part of your hospital design process you will have to consider the width of the corridors will they be large enough to handle the amount of foot traffic that will be going to that area of the hospital.
 
And once they have arrived in the waiting room is it large enough, comfortable and well lit. Is information provided for guests do they have access to washroom facilities all these things form a crucial part of the planning process and are crucial to achieving a good flow throughout your facility.
 

How does it feel for visitors?

The final and possibly most important thing to consider is what feeling will visitors experience when they come through the doors of your hospital will it be one that reduces their stress and anxiety levels and is warm and welcoming. Or one that will frustrate guests even more upon arrival.
 
The key to success in hospital design is thorough planning and preparation leave no stone unturned when it comes to planning and research to make sure you are best equipped to design and execute a functioning and successful hospital.
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