Healthcare: Designing a healing experience!
“Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open.” – B.K.S. Iyengar
Way back , it was a conversation between me and my sister who is a NHS Staff in London, that I got to reflect on the present scenario of health needs and healthcare around the world in light of current pandemic. No doubt healthcare is one of the most drastically moving sectors in the world and has seen extremities all through-out centuries. Every second the demand keeps changing and rising while healthcare is bursting at seems to handle volumes in case of an emergency or natural calamity. It was long back when patients took appointments only considering the reputation of the doctor. Nowadays patients want to consider entire spectrum of services whether it’s the ease oflocation, well qualified staff or fully equipped laboratories, online appointments, ventilation, all services under one roof etc. In a nutshell, the expectation is far more than services but an experience that satisfies all their senses. Infrastructure , hygiene, effective communication and a basic look and feel of the space to go with it.
As an architect or a design professional, I often feel that there are various aspects in Healthcare infrastructure where one can contribute to provide better experience hence healing of an individual. Ergonomic set ups, smart interventions and aesthetic changes can go a long way in bridging the gaps, making huge impact in healthcare ecosystem.
1. Design thinking in healthcare
Design thinking is a problem-solving methodology that emerged as a way to enhance the quality and durability of service and satisfaction of end users. Applying this method in healthcare can solve and prepare us for the future challenges. It can satisfy the needs of the staff as well as the patients resulting in a more productive, efficient and gratifying experience.
Design approach is different in different zones of healthcare. The primary factors that should be considered while brain storming a human centric design are
⇒ Function of the zone
⇒ Occupants of that zone
⇒ Time spent by the occupant in that zone
Few of the common zones in a healthcare are – Waiting area, Consultation room, In- patient room or ward, Laboratory or path lab, Staff common room.
A. Waiting area
Image source: Steelcase.com
It’s a space where patient and their families spend considerable amount of time waiting for appointments or waiting to meet their relatives. There is a lot of anxiety and stress which one goes through at times, while dealing with delicate situations at hand.The experience waiting can be made relaxing, comfortable and bearable if we put design thinking in place. Using colours and elements that radiate a calming effect can help reduce the stress. In-cooperating positive distraction is another great way of keeping negative thoughts away. The idea of positive distraction is to shift the focus of a person from a negative stimulus to a positive stimulus by manipulating the environment. It is basically an emotion driven strategy to calm the stress level of the occupants.
One amazing example for positive distraction within a waiting area is the Sayanomoto clinic
Image source: Naoomi Kurozumi – Arch daily
Sayanomoto clinic. It’s a mental health clinic in Saga city, Japan, specially designed for the treatment of patients with dementia. The space is designed in such a way that patients receive efficient and safe treatment. The nucleus of the design is the learning common waiting space designed not only for the treatment of patients but also functions as an interactive waiting area for visitors. It helps in diverting the negative stress levels to positive as visitors indulge themselves in reading. It’s really moving how a very simple idea of learning can bind people together through design.
B. Consultation room
Image source: Anna Shvets
The consultation room is the most vital space in a healthcare block. It is where a doctor examines and discusses the health issue of a patient. The doctor may share unpleasant news or have a difficult conversation with the patient which may upset or anger the patient. This is why it’s important for a consultation room to be patient- centric. It will help alter and build a positive aura around the patient and eventually the doctor
The colour, lighting and layout of the room are the primary elements that help build an experience within a room. Incorporating green elements can make the consultation room more welcoming, relaxing and homely. Another major factor to be taken in consideration while designing is the privacy of the patient. Nobody would like to open up about their medical conditions in public. Providing partitions and basic sound proofing can build a sense of privacy and comfort, helping in a good transparent diagnosis, consultation and treatment.
C. In- patient room or ward
Image source: Health facilities management
Healthcare is primarily all about patient care and treatment. In-patient is a zone where patients are admitted for hours, months or in worse case even years. There is a major impact that is scene in the mental health of patient. The whole idea of patient care can be improvised by making the ambience more warm and homely. Providing warm lighting instead of bright white can reduce the feeling of tension within the patients. Including artworks and green plants within space can build an emotion of positivity within patients, especially the once in isolation.
Providing windows can help them connect with the outside world. Small interactive zone within the room can help them divert their mind into something interesting like reading, listening to music, drawing etc.
The whole journey of healing can be made an experience through design.
D. Diagnostic Laboratory or Path labs
Image source: arch daily
Clinical labs are the busiest zones in a healthcare, as all the test and scans are conducted and recorded here. Therefore, when first approaching a laboratory, lean principals and work flow efficiency are the prime goals. Also, in modern laboratories flexibility and adaptability are a vital feature to be taken care off.
Open designs and modular casework support the demand for flexibility. In case of expansion or any re-purposing emergency, the flexibility of space will be of great help. Durable yet innovative materials enabling hygiene can go a long way in providing for effective diagnosis.
E. Staff common rooms
Image source- officesnapshots.com
Common spaces are the least focused spaces in a healthcare design. But instead, this is the space that can have a great impact on the staff. The core of a hospital is the staff that runs it. Especially the doctors and nurses, they have extreme working hours filled with stress and exhaustion which eventually affects their performance. Installing good comfortable seating can help the staff. Designing a corner that looks like a kitchen, lounge or a living room can help them build a feeling of home and including a dinning like seating would develop a sense of commingling and sharing.
2. Impact on healthcare
When designers get involved in the early planning stages of a new healthcare facility, they can see opportunities for spatial reconfigurations that will improve patient care and staff interaction. Understanding a client’s guiding principles will ensure an end result that meets current requirements while remaining flexible enough to anticipate future models of practice. Designers take design strategies to provide hospitals with better outcomes, so the hospitals can help people feel better faster.
Some of the impacts that are seen are:
⇒ Patient safety
⇒ Low rate of infection spread
⇒ Reduced medical error
⇒ Less traffic in movement
⇒ Efficient work flow
⇒ Healthy mental state
⇒ Flexible spaces in case of emergency
3. Developments in healthcare design
Healthcare has been evolving, adapting new approaches, and satisfying the needs of time since forever. And now in the run has also accepted many trends. The future of healthcare is in human centric approach, which will help in more smart and effective treatments. Some of the trends that are running now in healthcare are
⇒ Sustainable design- The ultimate aim of healthcare is to create robust environment that create a sense of patient well-being, and also help health care workers function efficiently. Natural lighting, fresh air, green plants all are conducive of patient recovery. One good example of sustainable design is the Kyabirwa surgical clinic
(Bob Ditty – arch daily)
Kyabirwa surgical clinic in Kyabirwa, Uganda is a very good example for biophilic design. It is an inspiration for the present day sustainable architecture as the whole idea of human relation with nature comes out in the design. The material used for construction is naturally sourced from the site and surrounding. The use of solar panels and natural lighting makes it fully self-sufficient, independent and also affordable for the people to access it.
⇒ Tech integration
Few of the tech integrations that can be integrated in experience designs are:
Virtual windows and ceiling
Image source- iands.design
Artificial windows can play a crucial role in patient well-being, in case of no window provision this can be an alternative. Though the lack of fresh air will be felt but a sense of connectivity with nature could be built within a patient. This approach can help maintain the mental health of a patient isolated within a space.
4. Phygital & Automation Integration:
Smart buildings is an imperative future of any institution especially when its looking into healthcare design and facility management. In this day and age of automation, integration of technology can enable efficient building maintenance, reduce environment impact and sustainability, add to health and wellness practices by integrating occupant and real estate interface.
By creating a digital twin or clone, healthcare facilities can also benefit in long term from the data collected through various aspects of people and building management to overall projecting and predicting patterns in customer behaviour, costs, use/redundancy of resources, machines or parts and mitigate future risks. It’s almost like designing a carbon copy of a facility in terms of infrastructure, machines, staff and customer patterns through AI algorithms and robotic applications. As a deeper study in to it, Design of such applications opens up a huge vista of parallel world of possibilities, there are other Phygital interventions which can enable faster, independent turnaround with easy adaptation are like following:
DIGITAL INTERFACES in the form of kiosks, touchscreens, AV integration are crucial for the healthcare industry as it improves the patient experience through transparency and efficiency while providing easier access to information. This can decrease patient stress and anxiety leading up to their appointment which in turn allows staff to do their job without added issues.
AUTOMATED SIGNAGES are also generally more visually appealing than traditional paper signage, helping to create a more modern, comfortable environment. As oftentimes the hospital experience is spent anxiously awaiting news, pleasant aesthetics are helpful for keeping patients happy and calm. Digital signage can help increase awareness, faster way to communicate and connect within other hospital zones such as the cafeteria, guest services , or display important public health notifications, such as those required during COVID-19.
Healthcare facilities are a hub of wellness, revitalization and definitive results. It requires a multisensorial and humane approach to build healing environments which look beyond numbers and charts.
By introducing mindful design interventions in facility design, construction, Interiors planning at beginning, one can make these environments ready for future disruptions, customer friendly spaces and safer experiences. Novel and best-practice technologies, materials, and design strategies can be leveraged to add value in overall development of cost effective, user friendly, low maintenance, innovative and sustainable interior solutions.
Healthcare Architects and designers must take lead in strategizing solutions learning from current pandemic, which has seen a surge of patients and demands a more agile, adaptive yet compassionate interface.
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