HEALTHCARE & HOSPITAL FACILITIES


A ONE-STOP SOLUTION With pressures on the NHS greater than ever, it’s vital for facilities managers


to ensure patients are still guaranteed a positive experience. Keith Austin, CEO of EMS Healthcare, considers the ways mobile and modular medical units can enhance patient experience and significantly reduce patient service time.


EMS Healthcare has helped trusts achieve these targets through the implementation of mobile medical units that have seen service times cut by almost 50 minutes, and excellent experience ratings reaching 95%. The result is a clinical environment that can see up to 250 more patients a week, with greater benefits for patients and improved efficiencies for hospitals.


GROWING PRESSURES Hospitals are seeing a higher


footfall than ever before. The aging UK population has led to a shift in demographics, with more people aged 65 and over being at greater risk to chronic health conditions that require ongoing treatment. As demands on the NHS continue to rise, the important role that healthcare facilities managers hold in delivering a positive patient experience becomes even more important, and can be subject to a number of pressures.


At the forefront of these pressures is the strain on capacity – it is no secret that the NHS is experiencing ever-


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growing backlogs of patients on waiting lists, and recent reports state that 9/10 hospitals across the UK had unsafe numbers on their wards this winter. Whilst little can be done to reduce the demand, facilities managers can assess methods of increasing capacity to ensure patients are seen in a safe and clinical environment.


A common solution to the creation of more space is carrying out hospital refurbishments. The majority of estates in the UK’s healthcare system were built for purpose at the time, but are aging and often unfit for today’s integrated approach to healthcare – something that is not helped by the amplified footfall within hospitals today.


Refurbishments can offer a long-term solution to trusts struggling under capacity pressures, but come at the high cost of time and money, both of which are in short supply for the NHS. Decision makers with influence over facilities must think outside the box to alleviate these pressures and adapt to the changing demographics, prioritising patient experience.


AN INNOVATIVE


SOLUTION One such way that trusts and CCGs are innovating is through mobile and modular units that can be modified to provide solutions to a number of issues within the healthcare sector. At EMS Healthcare we design, create and deploy fully DDA compliant mobile medical units that provide extra space for clinicians in areas such as ophthalmology, renal dialysis and endoscopy. The quality and versatility of these units are now so high that many patients prefer attending their appointments within mobile or modular builds than the hospital setting, as they offer greater convenience.


Whilst this option can quickly and easily expand capacity, the facilities available on the units mean they can also operate as standalone clinics, and can act as temporary accommodation for trusts going through refurbishments. The facilities on board can include waiting rooms, private consultation rooms, toilets, scanning rooms, clean and


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