CONSTRUCTION AND REFURBISHMENT
Overcoming healthcare’s theatre space challenge
The challenges and lasting effects of issues such as budget restrictions and staff shortages have long been a talking point for the NHS, and were further exacerbated by COVID-19. As the healthcare sector continues to adapt for a post-pandemic future, availability of theatre space will be key in reducing waiting lists and resuming ‘normal’ service levels. Lee Spencer, head of Operations at national maintenance and compliance contractor, Novus Property Solutions, discusses ways to ensure that sufficient theatre space is available.
The chronic issues facing the UK healthcare sector – difficulties in recruiting nurses and clinicians, insufficient beds to cater for increasing patient numbers, compounded by what is commonly known as ‘bed blocking’ and an ageing estate with a sizeable maintenance backlog – were further exacerbated by the need to reduce planned surgeries and other non-urgent services following the outbreak of COVID-19, adding to already- growing waiting lists for procedures. As this pressure on NHS services continues to increase, the need to consider both short- and longer-term solutions is more urgent than ever. However, with a series of restrictions and ongoing challenges, how can the theatre space issue be tackled head on?
Temporary solutions The most urgent challenges facing hospitals and other healthcare facilities are often temporarily overcome through the introduction of short-term measures, and the healthcare sector has been no exception in its response to the ever- growing demand for services since March 2020. The rising pressure on services means that Trusts must act quickly to avoid further escalating waiting times, but against a backdrop of limited budgets, this tends to lead to temporary measures. This is becoming an increasingly prevalent strategy for theatre spaces, where supply simply isn’t meeting demand. One of the ways that hospitals are
actively trying to combat this issue in the short term is through the temporary installation of portable ‘for-hire’ mobile units. Leading contractors are likely to have offered the use of these temporary cabin-style units for user experience as part of pre-pandemic contracts, meaning they have existing partnership with suppliers – offering a quick and effective interim solution. These mobile units can be installed in existing spaces such as car parks, and grew significantly in popularity during the pandemic,
thanks to being readily available and easy to install into almost any well- sized, unused space. Temporary mobile units are also highly versatile, and have had many uses in the healthcare sector since the outbreak of COVID-19, having been used to create a range of urgently- required short-term facilities – ranging from test centres to vaccination centres. They can be equipped with almost anything required of them, making them a suitable transitional option for creating theatre spaces until a long-term solution such as a permanent building can be installed.
Need for available space Of course, the use of mobile units does require a reasonable amount of unused space, and where this extra space is unavailable, some Trusts have chosen to convert theatres at 50% of the original output as phased projects, in order to make the space functional as quickly as possible.
Looking to the future While temporary measures for increasing theatre space are often necessary, they’re unlikely to be effective in the long term. For this reason – and given the importance of reducing waiting lists for surgery and other procedures – steps must be taken to future-proof theatre space and provide practical, permanent solutions. There’s a clear need for the healthcare sector to invest in theatre space, but how can this be balanced with tight budgets? One way to prioritise this need while
working with strict budgets is to maximise the value of existing theatre spaces. Upgrading existing theatres to expand their capabilities – for example, adding ultraclean ventilation canopies to make a theatre suitable for orthopaedic surgery – is a relatively cost-effective way to increase the useability of a space. An alternative solution is to create new theatres by repurposing an underused space in the hospital, offering a middle ground between simply upgrading a theatre and
Underused hospital areas such as offices are increasingly being transformed into ward spaces, and – Novus emphasises – this can offer a solution for theatre space too.
March 2024 Health Estate Journal 65
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