OPERATING THEATRE DESIGN
A ‘platform approach’ to future operating theatres
Speaking as part of the European Healthcare Design Congress in mid-June, three senior speakers from leading operating theatre equipment manufacturer, Brandon Medical, discussed how the use of ‘smart and flexible’ such equipment is key in supporting Modern Methods of Construction, but can also ensure that hospitals planning modern surgical environments today will not find them left behind in 4-5 years’ time by advances in technology or new surgical techniques. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, reports.
Hosted by SALUS Global Knowledge, the European Healthcare Design Congress 2021 proved a wide-ranging and comprehensive four-day online conference supported by awards, taking place ‘virtually’ from 14-17 June. Topics covered ranged from ‘The digital hospital’ and ‘Transformation through telehealth’, to ‘Patient experiences and preferences’, “Delivering an adaptable estates strategy for healthcare’, and ‘Putting into practice the principles of the New Hospital Programme’. The Brandon Medical presentation, ‘Smart technologies in the modern operating room’, formed part of a fourth day session on ‘Intelligent hospital design and innovation’.
Harnessing flexibility to support theatre projects
The first Brandon Medical speaker, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder / owner, Adrian Hall, explained that presenting following him would be National Specification manager, Richard McAuley, and International Business Development manager, Scott Pickering. Adrian Hall told delegates: “Our theme today is how we can use the flexibility of Brandon Medical’s latest innovations to support projects, including those harnessing Modern Methods of Construction. Hospitals are among the most complicated buildings we build, and the operating room one of the most complex elements to design, particularly as we move towards smarter theatre technology. However, the flexibility and modularity of our OR equipment can not only support MMC to help us de-risk projects, but also as we move towards digital medicine and the integration and decentralisation of community care. We can also utilise theatre technology to help us reach Net Zero.”
Adrian Hall explained that as projects got more complicated with technology, the ‘traditional design freeze’ approach ‘did not work that well’ – because, increasingly, ‘there was lots of highly niche equipment requiring deep knowledge’.
50 Health Estate Journal August 2021
Brandon Medical says: “If there’s something you’ve forgotten about in the 'spec', or something changes, we can reconfigure it to address any initial ‘unknowns’.”
“Secondly,” he said, “often the equipment and technology are developing faster than the project timescales. For example, there are plans for a new hospital in Leeds, my home city, but it might be a five or eight- year programme, and how much of the latest cutting-edge technology will change over that period? The technology available now won’t be the same; nor will the way the hospital is used. While we can build yesterday’s theatre, we don’t want that; nor do we know exactly what we’re going to want from the future smart operating theatre. So how do we address that?”
Reducing project risk
Faced with this challenge, Adrian Hall explained that ‘smart and flexible’ technologies could help healthcare providers reduce the risk, notably by helping them deal with changes in project scope and specification, and by offering ‘ a good deal of future-proofing’. He told delegates: “We need to change the way we think – and concentrate on building ‘platform capabilities’ – moving away from thinking ‘What’s the killer application I want to develop today?’, and that that hard- wired solution, and imagining that we’re inventing the first iPhone – creating
operating solutions more like that device – an innovative open platform we can develop in any type of application and functionality, and keep upgrading effortlessly.” He added: “I’ll bet you the range of applications you’re using on your smartphone today is very different to when you bought it two years ago; this is the sort of paradigm shift in thinking required.”
Re-thinking the future theatre control panel
Adrian Hall explained that, against this backdrop, Brandon Medical had started to think about the control concept in the operating theatre about four years ago – traditionally ‘a big stainless steel hard- wired control panel.’ Healthcare specifiers now often approached the company requesting a price and design for a panel for a hospital that might not be completed for five years, ‘without much of a specification or idea of how it would ultimately be used’. He said: “Thus much of the specification is guesswork at the design stage, with the detail addressed during construction, installation, and commissioning.” This not only put projects at a greater risk of errors and omissions, but also meant a ‘far from stress-free’
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