Valuable learnings from other sectors

The healthcare sector looks set to face a difficult year, with spending dominating the debate over the NHS, and a general election only months away. Staff numbers will no doubt be axed, and all budgets reviewed, as billions of pounds’ worth of cuts are made, and yet sustaining a good and consistent level of service will still be required. Capital expenditure, although not expected to be as severely hit as other areas, will have to work harder, and to drive more efficiency and operational effectiveness for the benefit of the health service as a whole. The question is: as the NHS now needs to milk every penny, are there unexplored ways of improving performance? The answer is yes. With the recession making every organisation more receptive to different methods and approaches, we have taken a look at some other market sectors, masterplanning, and even Mother Nature, and asked what can be learned from them for the good of healthcare delivery.

A touch of home

We have all heard that “home is where the heart is” and, while cliché, the phrase cannot help but evoke feelings of being safe, warm, comfortable, and relaxed, surrounded by personal possessions that make one happy and put one at ease. Transfer these qualities to a hospital or healthcare environment, and the ambience created inspires wellbeing and health, and is known to speed recovery. This, in turn, takes significant pressure off resources, and aids efficiency. The North West London Hospitals NHS Trust was very keen to embrace this approach when, working with Barbara Weiss Architects, it created the UK’s first free-standing birth centre, the Brent Birth Centre. Having earned high praise from the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for its “homely environment”, the project won a Civic Trust Award, and was a finalist in the Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Awards. One of the key principles behind the centre’s design was to make sure it would feel non-institutional, safe, inclusive and comfortable – “just like home” – to both mothers and staff. It “delivered” because, first and foremost, it was residential in scale and look – a low-key, elegant, and very private, single-storey building wrapped around a sheltered landscaped garden, built using an unusual variety of pale yellow bricks and natural materials wherever possible. In creating a domestic feel for the Birth Centre, layout was very important. Spaces created are open and welcoming, and the large corridors encourage movement, and provide the freedom for labouring mothers to walk around. The spacious rooms were fitted with double beds for partners, further removing any institutional feel. Standard NHS-supplied furniture, re-covered in more stylish fabric, was mixed with a few “designer” items, delivering comfort and visual interest; close attention to all types of storage requirements made a huge difference to the qualities of space and calm. Most importantly, the Brent Birth Centre bedheads have folding doors that can be closed to conceal medical apparatus, including taps for gas and air, so as not to be intimidating when entering the room.