The extreme impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our healthcare infrastructure; not just here in the UK, but around the world, has revealed every weakness and every seam in healthcare systems. The crisis has and will continue to change the sector, which got us thinking.
Sustainability, flexibility and eco-responsibility have become a requirement when designing a hospital. The subject is both fascinating and complex. Hospitals are already subject to many technical and regulatory constraints, as well as social and economic stakes. Meanwhile environmental concerns require us to go further still, identifying new levers to reduce the carbon footprint of the buildings.
Tomorrow’s hospitals must become more efficient, eco-conscious, and human centric. Our white paper, The Hospital of the Future: Challenges and Stakes identifies three pillars to achieve a positive patient experience: improving access to care, empowering patients, and families, and improving quality of life for patients and staff. Advances in hospital design could help achieve this, as could emerging technologies and a human-centred approach.
An efficient and cost-effective building must and first of all be fit for purpose. If we consider the floor for example, it should be smooth and easy to clean, but also low-slip and easy to move rolling loads over. Durability, cleanability and maintenance is another winning combination. The truth is acquisition and installation typically represent only 10% of a floor’s lifetime cost. The other 90% is down to maintenance. So long-lasting, low-maintenance floors can really affect the bottom line.
If you want to build to last, think long-term. There’s no way around it. A medical or care facility is going to impact people’s lives and the environment for decades, which is why it is so important to promote the health not just of patients, but of carers and staff too, all the while utilising sustainable and renewable materials which will help reduce a hospitals carbon footprint.
When designing a sustainable hospital think durability, material efficiency as well as recyclability and reusability.
