HEALTHCARE ESTATES 2023 KEYNOTES
Emphasising that access to the right expertise is fundamental in achieving ‘excellence’ in healthcare planning and design, Suzanne MacCormick said – by way of an analogy – that you would not expect the head of cabin crew to fly a plane.
Different demographics, resources, and finances Every demographic was also different, as was every NHS Trust – in terms of its finances and organisational structure, while healthcare needs varied considerably from location to location, as did the available resources, workforce, and skills. Suzanne MacCormick’s next focus
was human factors, and ‘the power of the subconscious mind’. She explained: “Human factors are the cognitive, social, cultural, physical, and emotional factors that make up our complete experience – in healthcare settings as a patient, a staff member, or a visitor. All these affect how we feel, and on every building project I’ve worked on in the past 30 years, I’ve factored them all in. “So, from a clinical perspective,” Suzanne
MacCormick added, “we can enhance clinical performance – via understanding the effect of teamwork, tasks, equipment, workspace, culture, and organisation, and the impact all this has on our human behaviour, our abilities, and how we apply them in a clinical setting. These are things we should never miss; it’s about recognising that our buildings shape
us. The subconscious mind is infinitely more powerful than the conscious one, and all behaviour, once learned, is done subconsciously.”
Some actions naturally ‘hardwired in’ Suzanne MacCormick said this factor meant we can anticipate the outcome of things, with the brain building its neural pathways, resulting in certain reactions and actions effectively being ‘hardwired’ – and thus undertaken subconsciously. She asked delegates: “Do you remember first learning to tie your shoelaces? As a small child it’s a very complicated task, but once you’ve done it, you don’t spend the rest of your life thinking about how. You do it subconsciously. Then,” she continued,” there’s learning to open a door. Fascinating when you are two years’ old, but you very quickly learn there are handles you push down, or round knobs you turn – so you don’t feel challenged every time – unless, of course, modern architecture steps in and messes with your hardwired programmes. Then,” the speaker said, “you think ‘Wrong door’, and you’re snapped back into reality, and must use the other door. What we thus want, as designers of
healthcare buildings, is to give that best experience, which is really easy to do. “Now,” she continued, “I want to look briefly at two elements of design that impact us at a subconscious level in our pre-frontal cortex and amygdala – the parts of the brain that affect our emotions. We’ve all heard about Biophilia, and our human connections to nature, but I only want to focus on three elements today: air, light, and colours, and how they impact us – both subconsciously and at a cellular level. So,” Suzanne MacCormick said, “we hear regularly about Biophilia and our visual connection with nature – plants, patterns, and all the associated fractals, and then there are natural materials, minerals, and so on. All these stimulate elements of us – even if it’s just a synthesised view, such as a green picture of a field, and make us feel connected to nature.” There was also, she explained, our
‘non-visual’ connection with nature, ‘often undervalued at a design level’. She said: “This is where it affects our other senses, such as sound, touch, smell, and taste, to remind us of that connection. In fact, the presence of water alone can be incredibly calming, and impacts us at a non-rhythmic, sensory stimuli level. You then have wind and air – important because thermal airflow variability really impacts us at a cellular level, i.e. on how we recover from ill health and feel well. There are also dynamic and diffuse lights, both of which subconsciously impact recovery.” ‘Numerous’ healthcare studies on the impact of light and air had, she noted, shown that patients exposed more to natural light often experienced less pain. She added: “We also know that even in an ICU, when a patient might be comatose,
INVICTA Professional Engineering Services Paul Harman BEng (Hons), CMgr, IEng MIET, MIHEEM, MAPM Email:
paul.harman@invicta-pes.co.uk
INVICTA PES can provide the following:
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January 2024 Health Estate Journal 33
Courtesy of Suzanne MacCormick
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