David Broderick, Operations director for ISG’s Engineering Services business, discusses why he believes construction technology ‘holds the key to decentralised healthcare provision’.
Decentralisation is the future of the healthcare sector, suggest many commentators, and it’s hard to argue with the logic. The collection of data on patients and their outcomes is providing analysts with a rich dataset that reveals trends and patterns that can be used to better target the establishment of new healthcare facilities where they are most needed in the community. Data-driven decision-making is providing increasing rigour to asset planning, and as this technology and interpretation is maturing, there is an interesting dynamic occurring within both the built environment and across wider society that could help accelerate this transformation in our healthcare estate.
Opening up ‘exciting possibilities’
Construction technology is transforming the way we visualise the space we need to thrive, and in the healthcare arena this is opening up exciting possibilities to drive the decentralisation agenda. The reaction to a virtual reality (VR) demonstration that I delivered at a recent healthcare summit shows that the appetite and ambition is there to embrace the innovative use of technology for space masterplanning. The ‘virtual operating theatre’ is an in-house developed, fully interactive and immersive environment that uses gaming technology to place stakeholders and decision-makers at the heart of the space before a single wall is constructed. The opportunity to virtually refine the design, layout, and specification at an early stage in the process means we build once, without changes, and optimise efficiencies.
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