EMERGENCY HOSPITALS
Left: A new nurses’ station in the low dependency unit. Right: New sinks and nurses’ bases installed within circulation space in the low dependency unit. Also shown are boxed-out enclosures for the new distribution boards installed as part of the works.
electrical contractor responsible for the fit- out of the halls), were able to source luminaires which we attached to the bed bays themselves. We constructed a mock- up of what the lighting scheme would be, and showed it to the clinicians and infection control team. These luminaires extended down the ward, lighting the corridor and providing suitable illumination for the clinicians and patients. We also presented the solution via a video call to the authorising engineer, who was remote from the site, to gain his approval. If I had said to a clinician you can have 200 or 300 lux, they might not have known the difference it would make to their work and patients’ wellbeing. However, by viewing the lighting through the eyes of the patient, and mocking up a sample, within the first couple of days we had made the decision to procure more than a thousand of these luminaires. It is here that we saw how
standardisation could also enable rapid delivery. Of course, this came as no
surprise, but the project was proof that the benefits can even be realised in a relatively complex healthcare facility.
Patient-led design
With an average time of around three weeks between entering hospital and discharge, we were designing for patients who might not have any interaction with the outside world for a significant amount of time. So, while aspects such as mobile phone charger provision didn’t come out of the initial clinical briefing, those ‘softer’ care elements were crucial to patient welfare. Adapting the electrical infrastructure to the care model was essential, particularly for movement between patient and non-patient areas in terms of staff having to wear PPE when entering patient areas.
We couldn’t have charging points directly in the bed bays because of the fire risk with medical gas. However, we wanted charging points to stay within the patient areas, so that clinical staff wouldn’t have to
Ultra Clean Air, Anywhere Small, modular, air handling unit
• Client specified • Ultra Clean (UCV) • Postive pressure • Negative pressure • User/BMS control
• Fixed or Mobile • ULPA15 or HEPA14 • EN14644 Part 3 • Low cost • Low running cost
Web:
www.airsentry.co.uk
• Rental available • British product • Easily deployed
• Increased hourly air changes between AGP
Tel: 01666 818087 September 2020 Health Estate Journal 51
take off their PPE when using them on behalf of patients. Working with specialist fire engineers, we developed charging points in rooms just off the clinical floor. These charging points had a bespoke fire compartment around them, allowing safe use without the risk of fire and the need for clinicians to spend time disrobing. The biggest challenge over the next 2.5 weeks was keeping up with the demands of the site. We were having to produce drawings for the contractor team within hours of a decision being made. People talk about ‘just in time’ deliveries on construction sites – we were designing something one day, which was being constructed on site the next day, which really presented a challenge. Any form of aborted work on that site, and the job would have failed; everything had to be right first time.
Lessons ‘from the frontline’ Several weeks on from the completion of the hospital, and we’ve had time,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
