Press release: Hospital design must reflect rapidly changing healthcare to avoid wasting investment

15 Jun 2005

Hospital design must reflect the rapidly changing nature of healthcare if the vast investment in hospital building is to be fully realised, warns a report from the Future Healthcare Network of the NHS Confederation.

Future proofing buildings for healthcare, which was launched at the NHS Confederation's annual conference in Birmingham this week, says that hospitals are being designed to last for up to 60 years.

But the pace of clinical innovation, increasing range of different providers, and the impact of information technology and the reconfiguration of services, 'will result in significant changes in the next five years.'

The warning applies to hospitals currently in development as well as to plans still on the drawing board.
It is better and cheaper to invest more money now at the design stage than to have to re-design or demolish buildings and start all over again, says the report.

But this thinking requires a fundamental change in perspective-planning for uncertainty and designing for change.

'It will mean shifting away from the notion that service configurations and models of care are static and that space is a fixed commodity,' says Sue Francis, Architectural Advisor of the Future Healthcare Network.
'This implies not only a different framework at the planning stage but also a shift in the way we think about the management of space over time.'

Planners and architects need to distinguish between core (essential) services, and those that are likely to change over time (movable) and those that could be provided in other generic settings (non-essential).
The report suggests adopting 10 key principles to "future proof" hospitals against change:

• strategic planning that integrates services across primary, intermediate and secondary care
• making best use of people and infrastructure
• investing in 'quality real estate' and avoiding bespoke solutions designed around specific services
• creating clear and unobstructed communication routes in buildings
• looking beyond immediate use of a building and making use of local amenities
• building 'shell space' with the potential to fit out later when required
• grouping functions together with similar technical requirements
• designing shape and form that will accommodate changes over time
• standardising room sizes so that they can be used for several different functions
• using space as a resource, not as a territory

'Where and how services can be delivered is constantly evolving. There is certainly no steady state to be found or planned for. From home to hospital, the boundaries between settings are on the move, comments Sylvia Wyatt, Project Manager of the Future Healthcare Network.

Ends

Notes for editors

1. The NHS Confederation represents more than 90% of the organisations that make up the NHS throughout the UK. Its members include the majority of NHS trusts, foundation trusts, primary care trusts and health authorities in England; trusts and local health boards in Wales; NHS boards and special boards in Scotland; and health and social service trusts and boards in Northern Ireland.
2. The Future Healthcare Network (FHN) is made up of organisations that are at the leading edge of thinking about future developments in healthcare. It aims to address the large gap between current levels of knowledge about healthcare and what will be required by 2010 and beyond. It is part of the NHS Confederation.

Contact details

For copies of the report Future Proofing Buildings for Healthcare published by the NHS Confederation, June 2005 and/or  to arrange an interview, contact Sarah Jones on: 0207 074 3300/ 07768 546 753

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