DESIGN CONCEPTS
Advances in research on genetics and
DNA should not be ignored either. These will be able to anticipate illnesses, as well as enabling early pathology and intervention to address these problems. All these components are important
factors to be taken into consideration when developing the surgery of the future. Rapidly developing medical advances will require a radical change to the design of future clinics and hospitals, not just the clinical care structure, but also the physical structure, to meet potential future changes and increased patient numbers. There are concepts in the design of clinics
and hospitals which will lead to good solutions, always taking into account their ‘connectivity’, alone and as part of the larger complex. The explosive demand for clinical services resulted in the creation of large hospital complexes, with capacities of 800 beds or more and often occupying several blocks, whose attention focused on different medical specialties. In many cases these buildings can be confusing, hard to navigate, and contain a high concentration of public and patients. They can also be cold buildings, with many people all searching for a solution to their very individual problems. Currently, these mega-hospitals have a labourious administrative process which can result in reaction times that are not always consistent with what is expected by patients. Often many visits are required to achieve the desired objective. Although the industrial revolution was conceived between the 18th and 19th
centuries, it was only at the beginning of the 20th century, that the needs of global production were really considered, resulting in the creation of industrial assembly lines and mass production, thereby achieving a specialisation of labour, mass production and significant decreases in production costs, making more products available to more people at lower costs. This was a genuine response to a
need in the world. As part of an analysis of the explosive changes in medicine, it is also necessary to do a similar thing with healthcare – to create a new vision and a new proposal. The biggest changes are the increasingly high demand for clinical diagnosis and treatment, and it is these clinical areas which have the greatest need for redesign. However, in a similar way to the
development of industrial processes to meet increasing demand, in the healthcare sector we should be looking at a similar development – of highly efficient units – for diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. To meet these demands the new hospital
of the future will have highly efficient ‘Diagnosis and Treatment Units’, supported by state-of-the-art digital imaging equipment, which directly corresponds to surgery. The majority of hospitals will offer non-invasive surgery offering a significant reduction in in- patient numbers. Surgery will be reserved for the most complex cases.
Not an assembly line It must be emphasised that the ‘Hospital of the Future’, will not be an industrial assembly line, instead it will offer a logical clinical sequence, where patients will follow through a ‘life line’. They will enter through a large reception area and after a process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery, they will emerge, fully recovered, at the other end. All of these processes will take place in an environment consisting not just of high- tech equipment, robots and telemetry clinics, but also an environment where the players will be the patients. Even with all the existing and future
technological developments it is important that we should never consider a human to be simply an object or an inanimate being. Importantly, there are also external
factors that influence and contribute significantly to a patient’s recovery. Environmental factors such as natural light, colour and the ability to commune with nature, for example. Further, the concept of ‘Planetree’ or ‘rebirth’ is a philosophy that seeks to put the patient first, the love of humanity – finding a balance between body and soul, nutrition and spirituality. Integrating the patient’s friends and family and providing areas for relaxation and recreation are important – the hospital should be considered to be sanctuary. All of these factors need to be
‘Even with all the existing and future technological developments it is important that we should never consider a human to be simply an object or an inanimate being.’
IFHE DIGEST 2013
incorporated into the new design of clinical habitat. In addition, other environmental issues need to be considered – we need to create green units which are healthy and sustainable and devoid of harmful chemicals. Waste management needs to be properly controlled, and we need to look at using clean energy as well as looking at more energy efficient environment options.
Conclusion Taking all of these considerations into account, the hospital of the future will require a great deal of engineering and the
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