HOSPITAL DESIGN
some supplemental questions to start gathering data on the existing facility. This will be used as a baseline for the new centre. Not only will this research support the Trust in delivering the best support for their staff, but it will also contribute to the body of research on how healthcare staff wellbeing, sickness, and burn-out are affected by the work environment.
Conclusion There are many issues relating to the healthcare workforce, and we cannot fully address them from within our siloed professions. The hospital environment needs to be considered holistically, as a workplace, as well as a place for patient care, to ensure that staff wellbeing is supported. We know that in looking after the staff, we look after the patients. It is not a case of choosing one over the other. Currently, staff facilities are frequently
A staff lounge with indoor/outdoor balcony at the Psychiatry Block, Södra Älvsborgs Hospital.
performance, and retention. White Arkitekter is also working in the UK on multiple projects, including the new Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, where staff wellbeing has been at the heart of the design from day one. ACORN, a consortium with White Arkitekter as the lead designer and led by developer and investor Kajima, has been selected to deliver the Velindre Cancer Centre, which is set to become the UK’s most sustainable hospital. Our approved proposals for the project were developed to ensure that it provides a practical, elegant facility where patients, staff, and the local community can feel welcome and unrestricted, while having the minimum impact on the surrounding environment of Cardiff’s Northern Meadows. The Velindre University NHS Trust
has a range of policies and provisions to support staff wellbeing – including encouraging and enabling staff networks for minority groups, wellbeing support, and complementary therapies, as well as access to a range of digital information and support. The Trust has made it clear that in the new facility, spaces to enable and support these activities are critical, and that their design should be at the heart of the project, not an afterthought.
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Staff provision will include both departmental and centralised refreshment rooms, rest rooms, and lounges, a staff wellbeing room for yoga, meditation, and group counselling, and small individual therapy rooms. In addition, active transport will be supported with dedicated, secure, staff bike storage and changing facilities. There will also be a roof terrace, accessible from the first floor, providing an alternative break space for staff in addition to the wider accessible landscape. In each of these spaces we are paying
close attention to the interior design. Furnishings and finishes are being selected to contribute to a relaxing and non-institutional environment, prioritising natural materials wherever possible, the acoustic design will provide privacy, while views to nature and access to outdoor space are emphasised.
Staff survey results The Velindre University NHS Trust 2020 staff survey results indicated that staff engagement was relatively high but – as with the rest of the NHS staff surveys – respondents are not questioned about their views on their work environment or staff facilities within the hospital. Therefore, in preparation for the POE, we added
institutional, uncomfortable, and over- occupied. There are relatively small interventions and features that we can prioritise to improve this – including providing access to the outdoors, ensuring acoustic and visual privacy, incorporating homely furnishings, and facilitating choice. Further study on the impact of these, and other features, will only strengthen the business case. The NHS is aware of the workforce challenges it faces; including the built environment in its arsenal of solutions is critical to its long-term success.
Sophie Crocker
At the new Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff staff wellbeing has been at the heart of the design from day one… Our approved proposals ensure that it provides a practical, elegant facility where patients, staff, and the local community can feel welcome and unrestricted, while having the minimum impact on the surrounding environment
60 Health Estate Journal May 2024
Sophie Crocker, an architect with a decade of experience and specialisation in healthcare design and research, has worked on healthcare projects across the UK, the Middle East, and China, and understands the importance of using international best practice to inform a uniquely local design. She is currently Clinical Design lead for the new Velindre Cancer Centre, leading user engagement meetings with patient, staff and government stakeholders to develop a design that meets everyone’s aspirations.
Jan Töve
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