THE PATIENT ENVIRONMENT


At Södersjukhuset, one of Stockholm’s largest district general hospitals, Swedoor paired a neutral palette with ‘unique clad doors’ featuring a luxury ash laminate finish, and incorporating Vistamatic vision panels, as part of ‘a comprehensive transformation’ of the former accident and emergency hospital.


frame. This thoughtful design element enables easier orientation for visually impaired visitors, demonstrating how aesthetic considerations can also serve practical purposes. These projects show that even the most ambitious aesthetic goals need not compromise functionality. Every aspect of hospital design – including doors, can be customised with calming colours, inspired by nature, to create a therapeutic and healing ambience. As healthcare facilities continue to evolve, the integration of biophilic design principles promises to play a crucial role in enhancing patient outcomes and promoting staff wellbeing.


Lisa Ward


Product Line manager (UK and France) at Jeld-Wen, Lisa Ward, is a Chartered Marketer with over 20 years’ experience in brand, product management, new product development, and market activation. With a focus on product lifecycle management and strategy development, she worked with market- leading brands in the UK and across the globe before joining Jeld-Wen. Her extensive experience ranges from interiors, to home improvement and consumer goods, and she says she is ‘passionate about purpose-driven brands that make a difference’.


Privacy and comfort: a smarter approach Historically, critical care facilities have faced challenges in creating calm, private environments due to the need for close observation and rapid intervention. This type of monitoring typically comes hand in hand with close proximity to other patients, resulting in ongoing noise, frequent disturbances, and little in the way of natural light. Fortunately, innovative solutions such as Vistamatic products are starting to address these challenges. This technology features a built-in glass panel within the door frame that switches from clear to opaque at the touch of a button.


Implemented as part of the configuration for several bedside doorsets at the Kolding Hospital in Denmark, this system enables patients and visitors to enjoy privacy, while giving care providers the ability to monitor them when necessary, with minimal disruption. The daylight-filled spatial qualities of Vistamatic glass also contribute to creating a welcoming and bright ambience for inpatients. As the correlation between soothing environments and faster recovery becomes increasingly evident, this approach is gaining recognition as the gold standard for establishing healing hospital spaces. Available as part of customised Swedoor configurations, we’re seeing more healthcare architects and planners prioritising these design elements in new facilities and retrofit projects alike. The primary challenge our customers face is articulating


the business case for a more human-centric and patient- focused approach to hospital and healthcare design. Decision-makers naturally seek clear returns on investment, and may struggle to recognise the long-term benefits of innovative design approaches, such as improved patient outcomes and staff efficiency, which are not immediately apparent from a financial standpoint. However, the good


74 Health Estate Journal January 2025


news is that early adopters continue to share the value of this more considered design approach, so industry knowledge is increasing all the time. This can be used to make a more compelling business case, particularly around how well thought-out, considered design overlaps with wider societal trends around workforce wellbeing and sustainability.


The future of healthcare design As academic and clinical evidence continues to demonstrate the positive impact of thoughtful interior design that promotes calm, comfort, and privacy, the healthcare sector is increasingly incorporating these perspectives into hospital settings. Jeld-Wen remains committed to innovation in this area. Having already established a strong reputation for its quality across Europe, Swedoor is now available to the UK market. Offering customisable, third-party certified, high-performance doorset solutions that seamlessly blend form with functionality, and achieve regulatory compliance, we can work with healthcare professionals to help shape the future of clinical environments. Looking ahead, those who embrace a less clinical and more comfortable design approach stand to reap significant benefits. Beyond improving patient outcomes and staff satisfaction, this can also contribute to more efficient and cost-effective healthcare delivery.


References 1 View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science 27 April 1984; 4647: 420-421. https://www.science. org/doi/10.1126/science.6143402


2 Daylight in hospitals: health and wellbeing impacts on patients. UCL Institute for Environmental Design and Engineering. https://tinyurl.com/2vcu2nw5


3 The role of healthcare facility design on the mental health of healthcare professionals: A Literature Review. HERD January 2023; 16(1): 270-286.


4 The role of colour in healthcare environments, emergent bodies of evidence-based design approach. Sociology and Anthropology November 2016; 4(11):1020-1029.


5 A systematic review and conceptual framework of biophilic design parameters in clinical environments. HERD January 2023; 16(1): 233-250.


6 Stress-reducing effects of real and artificial nature in a hospital waiting room. Beukeboom CJ, Langeveld D, Tanja-Dijkstra K. J Altern Complement Med 2012; Apr: 18(4): 329-33.


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