Building a health facility requires empathy and perspective so that one can look into the mindset of the harrowed patients or their family members. The facility needs to have a design that is easy to navigate, locate and reach out to. Getting perplexed is common as a health facility comprises multiple departments such as neurology and orthopedics. And it is pretty natural for patients to feel pressured or anxious during unprecedented circumstances. Although complex architectural structures feel relevant from an aesthetical point of view for health infrastructures, planning wise they are completely irrelevant.
With changing times, in-patient care and diagnostic facilities need to be upgraded to better meet the overgrown requirements of timely care. Not just the dedicated care but testing facilities must be kept within the reach of the important departments to minimize the hectic and suffering of patients and relatives. Now the design of health facilities is more about meeting the emotional needs of the patients rather than just simply providing their physical environment or approach to the health facilities. That being said, here are seven critical tips to follow to design a tremendously functional and phenomenally operational.
1. Keep Accessibility in Mind
Modern health care facilities emphasize creating a well sanitized, clean, and hygienic therapeutic environment. To have such an environment, Important units have to be accommodated with well-connected diagnostic facilities and radiological centers.
Not just the presence of cross-connected facilities, the spaces must accommodate the concept of shared spaces where doctors, nurses, and support staff can collaborate, operate, and communicate seamlessly. Since the accessibility isn’t only about the patient but also for the medics and paramedics to arrive and operate early during an emergency stage. In the United States, health facilities need to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
2. Aesthetics are Essential
Health facilities play a vital role in the healing process of patients. As time calls for a more holistic approach to patient care, the need for aesthetics emerges. The areas are designed and even personalized to provide visitors and the patient an experience where they can feel more like in a home. It is a dramatic impact on the whole medical procedure and provides patients with soothing care and upliftment. Here are some inspiring interior architecture projects with great design to take examples from. All in all – the primitive focus should be on –
- Providing easy wayfinding and navigational information
- Visibility and Colors
- Keeping proportion and balance
- Use of natural lighting and well-ventilated spaces
- Homelike environment with attention to details
3. Keep it Functional
When planning the architecture, make sure the design is completely functional. The areas should be easy to clean and can be adjusted based on the level of care needed for the patient. The space should be able to maintain the proper hygienic conditions for the patient to have a better experience.
Overall, the comfort level of the patient should be prioritized with the functionality of the space. The infrastructure should work in a way to automatically implement safety and emergency protocols in case of a devastating event. Other than that, when the needs for arriving to accommodate new units for new diseases and departments, the infrastructure can be modified. Here are some handy tips on learning to make small rooms seem larger.
4. Plan it to be Sustainable, Secure, and Safe
Security and safety are almost critical as the life of patients. There is no replacement for these security and safety codes. It encompasses an emergency backup system in a view of fire and lighting faults. The facilities should be incorporated with sprinklers, fire and smoke alarms, power backup generators,
5. Productivity
The productivity aspect of healthcare infrastructure pushes the efficiency, reliability, and flexibility in the picture. It promotes better mechanisms for efficient connections to easily migrate patients, provide the necessary equipment, and have complete support spaces for storage. Everything should be sensibly planned and implemented. Apart from that, the infrastructure should be properly layout to work with minimum energy, provide privacy, and emphasize acoustics to paramount attention.
Final Verdict
As the world corresponds to the pandemic, our health care system would need a paradigm shift to better cope with the challenges ahead. Planning a better emergency response system would be critical to staying one step ahead in this objective. Our health infrastructures would inevitably have to stand strong and address the troubles that arise on the way.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.