FOCUS: MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE


Designing a sustainable future for healthcare facilities


Steve Richmond at REHAU Building Solutions discusses best practice for designing future healthcare facilities


lower heating losses during operation, and in turn greater carbon savings. The government has supported district heating technology in recent years with schemes such as the £338 million Heat Network Transformation Programme and £288 million Green Heat Network Fund. REHAU’s survey seems to echo this, with 70% of respondents expecting demand for this technology to rise in the next five years.


Ambient noise reduction


A key factor influencing occupant wellbeing in healthcare facilities is acoustics, with 91% of respondents to the survey citing it as ‘important’ or ‘very important’. Noise levels can significantly impact patient comfort, which is vital for a rehabilitative environment. But it’s not just a facility’s operating noise level that can degrade patient experiences.


T


he government’s pledge to build 40 new hospitals by 2030 presents a golden opportunity for M&E building and environmental professionals to design for sustainability and value for money. However, it is critical


that Net Zero drivers and cost-cutting do not come at the expense of patient and staff wellbeing. In April 2021, the government set a new UK Net


Zero goal of cutting carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, compared to a 1990 baseline. Healthcare systems account for around 4.6% of global carbon emissions, suggesting that the sector has a significant role to play meeting government net zero ambitions.


While occupant wellbeing was once the sole consideration when constructing new healthcare facilities, ever-tightening sustainability targets have become another important, accompanying priority. For instance, buildings that are ‘healthy by design’ for both occupant wellbeing and environmental impact will create long-lasting medical facilities that are fit to deal with the growing demands put on the NHS with an aging and longer-living population.


An opportunity to adopt healthy design


With the Government’s 40 hospital pledge, the UK healthcare sector has the opportunity to adjust its approach. Healthy building design principles can be adopted with both new-build and with the maintenance and renewal of existing healthcare facilities. To assess the attitudes of industry professionals and to establish where priorities lie, REHAU surveyed 520 M&E designers and architects for its latest guide, Designing Healthy Healthcare, which forms part of the wider Designing Healthy series. The campaign is based on deep insights into the drivers and challenges faced by industry professionals when designing buildings today. The guide’s findings highlight the growing importance of sustainability in building design with a growing pressure to incorporate cost-cutting measures. As a result, 44% of respondents believed that wellbeing is ‘often’ value-engineered out of a building’s design at a later stage, while a further 32% stated that this is ‘always’ the case. With these statistics in mind, it appears that economic cutbacks in the sector present a risk to the principle of occupant wellbeing, despite this being a prime consideration for hospitals, care homes and other such facilities. Adopting healthy design values will help maintain building performance at optimum levels despite the possibility of cost-cutting measures later down the line.


The benefits of off-site construction


A primary consideration for healthy building design should be the construction location. Until recently, construction in the healthcare sector has largely taken place on site, though there is a strong case for it to be moved off- site in the interests of both sustainability and occupant wellbeing. Without the challenge of navigating an active hospital environment, off-site construction has the potential to speed up new builds, while also reducing the amount of embodied carbon that goes into each project. This also ensures that patients receive minimal exposure to the noise and disruption generated by construction work. The research revealed 58% believed that demand for alternative construction methods would increase, with faster construction, quality control and lower costs all cited as primary drivers.


Improving energy efficiency with district heating networks


Simply heating a facility represents a significant portion of energy demand for most healthcare facilities – a concern further brought to the forefront by the ongoing energy crisis. Adopting greener approaches to this process has the potential for significant carbon savings on a worldwide scale. One such approach could be district heating networks. Hot water is provided to multiple buildings via an underground network of pre- insulated pipework sharing a single heating source. This method has been proven to be more energy efficient than heating buildings individually. The majority of heat network systems in place in the UK are third generation. However, fourth generation technology makes use of more sustainable heat sources such as heat pumps, solar thermal systems and waste heat recovery systems from nearby data centres. Water is also instead supplied between 40 and 60°C, resulting in


The soundscape in such buildings must be considered as a whole, extending beyond alarms and machinery to low and intrusive sounds, such as keys in locks and the sound of water running through internal pipework. While addressing these sounds will not prove a comprehensive solution, eliminating noise from controllable sources where possible will no doubt contribute to a calmer hospital environment.


Ensuring safe drinking water provision


Another major factor of healthy building design is the safe provision of drinking water. With a duty of care to patients, the supply of drinking water in healthcare facilities must not present a contamination risk to those who may already be vulnerable. At present, the most popular materials for heating and water pipes are copper and steel, reflecting metal’s position as the traditional choice for this application. When asked about their reasons for specifying these materials, the respondents to the survey cited ‘fewer tools’ and ‘more hygienic’ among the most popular reasons. However, there is a growing case to suggest that metals are no longer the best choice, and that copper and steel are not as hygienic as they may seem. Both are more prone to microbial contamination compared to polymer pipework and multilayer composite pipe (MLCP). Given that 83% claimed that they still specified fittings containing lead, material specification is critical. Furthermore, 42% also claimed that they were ‘often’ victims of copper theft, indicating another risk that is invited when specifying this material.


Going forward


The next seven years represents a period of opportunity for the healthcare sector. With 40 new facilities set to be constructed by the end of the decade, building and environmental professionals have now been presented with the chance to future-proof the nation’s medical infrastructure against current and future challenges.


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BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2022 15


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