HOSPITAL DESIGN
Learnings from Sweden on designing for staff wellbeing
Without its staff, the NHS cannot function. The ‘triple whammy’ of Brexit, COVID, and over a decade of austerity, are placing even more pressure on an over-stretched healthcare system, raising more concerns about staff wellbeing. Sophie Crocker, Architect at White Arkitekter, discusses how healthcare workplace design can contribute to staff wellbeing with four examples from the Scandinavian practice’s work in Sweden.
The hospital environment is not often considered in terms of its impact on staff wellbeing. Most staff support policies are associated with mental health, flexible work, food provision, and protected breaks, rather than the work environment itself. However, there is a correlation between staff stress and satisfaction and patient satisfaction – if staff satisfaction is high, then patient satisfaction will also be higher; if staff are unhappy, patients are unhappy. Current staff space provision across the NHS is generally poor. Facilities are institutional, uncomfortable, and frequently over-occupied (consider that the NHS full- time staff count has increased by 92,000 since July 2019, while staff areas have not increased, and administrative spaces are frequently repurposed for additional clinical requirements). Typically, the priorities are functionality and durability over comfort and respite.
A staff break room at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge.
Built environment’s impact on the workforce At a time when NHS staff have never been more dissatisfied, and with over 40,000 nursing vacancies to fill, it is essential that Trusts up and down the country consider the role and impact of the built environment on the workforce. Estates managers, Capital Projects directors, architects, and designers need to work together to implement powerful interventions. Wholesale redesign is not always required – there may be small
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interventions that can have a big impact. What, however, do we know about designing for staff in healthcare settings? There is appetite within the NHS to improve staff wellbeing; it is explicitly mentioned in the Elective Recovery Plan (February 2022) and the NHS health and wellbeing framework (November 2021), but it is not often linked to the built environment. The framework discusses the environment in terms of safety, while the Recovery Plan indicates that supported
Numerous studies have revealed the impact of workplace design on employee attraction, productivity, satisfaction, and retention. These studies have informed the WELL Building Standard, and have also helped companies understand the importance of the work environment on their bottom line
staff are more able to innovate. The NHS has already implemented policies to support staff mental health, but the spaces in which staff work and rest also need to be considered for the greatest effect. Numerous studies have revealed the impact of workplace design on employee attraction, productivity, satisfaction, and retention. These studies have informed the WELL Building Standard, and have also helped companies understand the importance of the work environment on their bottom line.
Focus on traditional office jobs This research has been overwhelmingly focused on traditional office settings and desk jobs. While there are some studies on healthcare work environments, they tend to be small, survey a specific user group, and are rarely conducted within the NHS. Although basic biophilic principles of daylight, nature, and circadian lighting are transferable from office to healthcare workplaces, healthcare staff are often
May 2024 Health Estate Journal 57
Anders Bobert
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