,
writes Alex Solk of Sheppard Robson.
Hospital design is ripe for radical reinvention. Traditionally, investment has focused on clinical advances and technology in healthcare, whilst the hospital environment and the way it embraces new thinking has often been overlooked. Of course, clinical advances are crucial, but we are starting to see a changing of mindset. With the scale of the government’s new Health Infrastructure Plan, we have a real opportunity for a significant reappraisal of what hospitals can be.
Increasingly, healthcare institutions are asking: how can our healthcare services be embedded within communities, rather than isolated, institutionalised facilities? How can wellness design principles, which are so prevalent in other sectors, reshape the whole hospital experience? How can the NHS and healthcare operators attract and retain the best staff?