NHS Trusts across the UK are focusing on their challenging programme of capital investment in new hospitals, modernising existing facilities, and driving down emissions, as part of the 2040 NHS Net Zero Carbon deadline. James Large, Senior Acoustics consultant at international mechanical and electrical (M&E) and sustainability consultancy, CPW, argues that against this backdrop, more focus should be placed on good acoustic design during estates upgrades.
It's easy to overlook the importance of acoustics within hospitals, where patient care is necessarily focused on the critical and urgent, yet the facts are undeniable — good acoustic design in hospitals improves patient outcomes. Hospitals are inherently noisy places. Elevated noise levels come from a variety of sources: alarms, medical equipment, conversations, music, tannoy announcements, trolleys being wheeled down hallways, and mechanical systems like ventilation and heating.
The impact on patients of consistently being subjected to increased noise levels is well documented. It can interfere with sleep, cause stress and anxiety, and result in headaches and malaise,1 all of which can slow recovery and discharge times, and generally impede the healing and care process. We must also consider that the impact on staff may result in poorer patient care. Noisy environments contribute to cognitive overload, stress, miscommunication, and the ability to focus, all of which are essential when making critical decisions in fast-paced environments if we want to avoid medical errors. Excessive noise can mask important verbal communications between staff, leading to missed instructions or unclear orders. In busy environments like operating rooms or emergency departments, ambient noise levels can also drown out the sounds of alarms and equipment signals, potentially delaying responses to urgent situations. A well-designed acoustic environment can improve patient safety.
There are a range of techniques that can be implemented to improve acoustics. These may include increasing the sound insulation performance of barriers — including walls, ceilings, and floors, to control noise transfer between areas. The use of sound-absorbing materials is also key to controlling reverberation, which reduces noise build-up and enhances communication. Hospitals pose a unique set of challenges, in particular around the issues of infection control and washability, meaning the utmost consideration needs to be given to appropriate materials for the construction and fit-out of hospital interiors.
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