GUIDELINES FOR PHYSIOTHERAPY CENTER DESIGN

Posted on 16 Apr 2022

Are you planning to build or restructure a physiotherapy center in India? Looking for detailed information about the design of a physiotherapy center? In this article, Hospaccx Healthcare Consultancy has mapped and mentioned all the norms and guidelines required to set up a physiotherapy unit. If you need any further assistance in designing Hospitals, or a refined market and financial feasibility or any other study related to healthcare you can Contact Hospaccx Healthcare Consultancy Business on hospaccv.india@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION

Physiotherapy can be defined as a treatment method that focuses on the science of movement and helps people to restore, maintain and maximize their physical strength, function, motion, and overall well-being by addressing the underlying physical issues.

A physiotherapy center is an allied Healthcare establishment providing, physical therapy services by a physiotherapist to patients with a recent prescription or referral from a licensed medical doctor (physician/surgeon). Depending on the disease condition a review and re-prescription by a treating medical doctor is required for continuing physiotherapy services.

The total space is categorized into two sections:

Common area: Includes waiting area, reception, washrooms, consultation

Treatment area: Includes equipment and ancillary services

Types of treatments provided at an established physiotherapy clinic:

Electrotherapy
Mechanotherapy
Exercise therapy

Hydrotherapy
Manual therapy

DIFFERENT TYPES OF PHYSIOTHERAPY MODEL

Standalone clinics: it is an establishment to exclusively physiotherapy patients. Standalone clinics can have multiple physiotherapists providing treatment.

Multi-specialty clinics: more than two doctors or healthcare professionals, share facilities under one roof.

Affiliation with Gyms/fitness centers: The emerging trend of extreme fitness has borne this new model. With a rigorous fitness regime, injuries are common, and a physiotherapist assisted exercise plan is advised.

SPECIFIC NEEDS IN INPATIENT UNITS

To avoid unnecessary transport to and from the main unit, space and facilities forward-based therapy could be considered. Include but not confined to:

10m corridor length for walking tests.
Storage for equipment & mobility aids
Ward-based treatment space larger than the area around a patient’s bed
Access to stairs for practicing crutches
Access to write-up area and storage of resource material.

INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS

The physical facility shall be developed and maintained to provide a safe and secure environment for patients, their families, staff, and visitors. It shall be situated in a place having clean surroundings and shall comply with local bylaws in force, if any from time to time.
The minimum space requirement for carrying out the basic functions of the facility shall be as per clinical establishment act.
The area shall be well illuminated, ventilated and clean with adequate water supply.

The total area requirement can be broadly classified into two categories viz. Common Area and Treatment area. The common area shall include facilities such as reception, waiting, toilet, consultation, etc. The treatment area shall include space requirements for the main equipment and ancillary services.
The facility shall be adequately provided with working space to allow orderly and logical placement of equipment, material, and movement of personnel to maintain safe operations.
The space requirement in the treatment area shall be as per the scope of service and workload. The ancillary area like facility for storage (cabinet etc), a facility for backup equipment like UPS/generator etc. shall also be available.
The common area can be shared between the different divisions/sections of the center/HCO. Within the center, various work sections can also share the resources and space however not compromising the quality of work.
The physiotherapy center shall have a prominent board/signage displaying the name of the center in the local language at the gate or on the building.

The following other signage shall be well displayed in the language understood by the local public in the area:

a) Name of the physiotherapist with registration number.
b) Fee structure of the physiotherapist/ physical therapy services.
c) Timings (Forex – from 8 am -2 pm)
d) Services provided within the facility

FURNITURE & FIXTURES:

Furniture and fixtures shall be available in accordance with the activities and workload of the physiotherapy center.
The furniture and fixtures shall be functional all the time. below are the requirements of furniture:
Table
Chairs
Examination Table/couch
Screens
Footstep
Stools
Storage Cabinet for records etc.
BMW storage area

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

ACOUSTICS:

The majority of the therapy areas of the Unit are open space. Further, the activities undertaken therein require hard, impervious flooring (timber or sheet vinyl) and generate noise. Other areas within the Unit require acoustic privacy to be effective or prevent embarrassment such as Respiratory Treatment Rooms and rooms used for women’s health disorders. Account should be taken of the potential sources of noise within as well as from outside the Unit. Solutions to the various acoustic characteristics and requirements include:

Use of curtains and other soft fabrics
Use of solid core doors
Co-locate potentially noisy areas
Strategic positioning of storage areas to create a sound buffer
Carpet inpatient areas are not recommended.
Speech Pathology rooms have specific requirements to operate effectively.

LIGHTING:

Natural lighting is essential in large treatment areas such as gymnasiums and Staff Rooms. Consideration should be given to lighting levels for patients who are visually impaired.

CLIMATE CONTROL:

Good temperature control and ventilation in treatment areas as work can be arduous for both patients and staff. It is important to remember that certain patients such as those with spinal cord injuries are unable to regulate their body temperature. It is therefore imperative that the gymnasium is air-conditioned. Regardless of orientation, there must be means of sun control.

INTERIOR DESIGN:

The physiotherapy process is often a long one with patients commencing attendance at the Unit as inpatients and continuing as outpatients. Consequently, the Unit should seek to provide a welcoming and supportive environment as it is essential that patients feel positive about returning to the Unit regularly.

Minimum infrastructure requirements shall be as follows:

Sr. No.	Sections	Minimum Area
1.	Reception, Waiting & Consultation	Reception, waiting, consultation room, etc. shall be adequate as per the requirement and workload of the physiotherapy center
2.	Ancillary area/space	Ancillary area/space for storage of records, reagents, consumables, stationery, etc including eating area for staff shall be available in accordance with the workload
3.	Electrotherapy (Adult / Pediatrics)	Minimum one chamber of 10 ft.X7 ft for Diathermy unit and another chamber of the same size for other electrotherapy modalities with examination couches, linen, and electric fitting of required load, as per the specifications of the modalities. Separate space for Wax Bath and Hydrocollator as per the patient load and equipment specifications
4.	Exercise Therapy	Minimum one consultation room (15 ftX10 ft at least), Treatment rooms/cabins (at least three of 10ftX10ft each) and space for the Parallel bars, Gait training, and Floor/mat exercises. The center should have essential facilities like washbasins, washrooms etc.
5.	Mechano Therapy	Minimum one chamber of 10 ft.X7 ft to accommodate Cervical and Lumbar Traction systems (Intermittent and Constant) with traction table and other material to provide adequate working space to carry out the safe procedure.
6.	Manual therapy	Manual therapy couch or the Examination couch. can be accommodated in the Exercise therapy space
7.	Hydrotherapy	Optional. If there, it should be placed in the separate chamber of the size as per the equipment specifications. For example, if Hubbard’s equipment is used, it requires a chamber of not less than 15ft x 15ft along with the facility of changing room and washroom

CONCLUSION

The above mentioned are the minimum standard requirements to design or set up a Physiotherapy center. This study concludes that minimum designing guidelines need to be followed by the architect to design the Physiotherapy center.

For further details contact us at Hospaccx Healthcare business consulting Pvt. Ltd on hospaccx.india@gmail.com 