SEISMIC WORKS
building wings where vertical and horizontal circulation routes are located, targeted measures have been studied in relation to the work phases, so as to avoid isolating critical areas of the hospital. The planning also takes into account all aspects concerning the safety of routes for patients and visitors, as well as for healthcare service staff. The redistribution of healthcare activities will take place within the available spaces of the Polyclinic hospital complex. The decision of the Modena University Hospital Trust was, in any case, not to relocate healthcare services to external facilities, in order to avoid burdening the budget with additional costs. Within this complex planning
framework, management will also carefully consider and evaluate all possible options to ensure separate flows of patients according to their level of care (outpatients and inpatients).
Structural weaknesses and future vision More recently, further analyses have been carried out on the future of the Polyclinic, which will, over the next 10 years, implement a vast investment program not only to secure the buildings in order to mitigate the seismic risks of a structure built 60 years ago, but also it will be necessary to integrate the investment plan with additional works to adapt the facility to the needs arising from technological progress and the evolution of healthcare, as well as to restore areas that are currently unusable. The ‘slab-like’ configuration of the Monoblock, with its eight essentially separate floors, does not allow the level of collaboration required by multidimensional and multiprofessional medicine. Despite the historical value and
strategic role of the Polyclinic, the slab configuration of the Monoblock and its age impose significant limitations. The facility is, in fact, no longer adequate for modern, technology-driven, and multidisciplinary medicine. The main critical issues identified
include technological challenges, such as: l Lack of modern technological hubs and platforms (operating rooms, outpatient facilities, diagnostic and interventional units).
l No backup systems for major technologies, with operational risks caused by machine downtime and the impossibility of creating them due to insufficient space.
l High dispersion of laboratory areas. l An inadequate structure for delivering modern, technology-based healthcare (5G hospital).
Plus significant organisational challenges, such as:
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Figure 7. Seismic improvement works to the 60 per cent target. Green: 60 per cent seismic improvement interventions already carried out. Yellow: 60 per cent improvement interventions to be carried out.
l Logistics that hinder collaboration among teams (increasingly multidisciplinary and multiprofessional medicine).
l Difficulties in concentrating (integrating) and rationalising facilities and teams (economies of scale).
At the same time, it is reasonable to envisage that in 10 years Modena could have a new hospital – modern, safe, and unified.
The new hospital project The construction of a new hospital would also immediately allow: l Rationalisation of expenses required to secure the current facility, redirecting investments already allocated to the Polyclinic.
l Avoiding the long-term impact of ongoing construction works at the Polyclinic on patients, their families, and healthcare workers. In fact, seismic improvement projects could be reassessed, limiting them to phase 1 and redefining phase 2, while still ensuring an adequate safety level in anticipation of the new facility.
A new, single, large hospital could be built: modern, safe, and green, serving as the sole reference point for clinical networks (emergency, polytrauma, stroke, heart attack) with shared technological
platforms (operating rooms, outpatient, diagnostic, interventional). The new hospital could feature an organisational and logistical structure functional to effective clinical practice (multidisciplinary activities, dedicated areas for scheduled care, etc.) and efficiency (reducing duplication), with functional spaces for integration with the University and for fulfilling its research and teaching mission (classrooms, offices, laboratories, etc.), while achieving significant economies of scale (space, equipment, and staff).
Conclusions In recent times, a debate has emerged on the opportunity to build a new hospital in Modena – modern, safe, sustainable, and integrated with the University. A single large structure would allow services to be concentrated, expenses rationalised, duplications reduced, and adequate spaces provided for research, teaching, and care. The Masterplan for seismic
improvement of the Polyclinic represents a necessary choice to ensure safety and continuity of care in the short term. However, looking at the next ten years, a strategic crossroads is emerging: continue with costly and complex interventions on a building designed more than sixty years ago, or invest in a new green, smart, and technological hospital, capable of meeting the challenges of future healthcare. IFHE
IFHE DIGEST 2026
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