TIP FOR HOSPITAL PLANNING AND DESIGNING

1. The emergency service shall be located on the ground floor to ensure immediate access. 
2. Lifts should be close to emergency department to avoid the delays in patient transfer. 
3. A separate entrance to the emergency room shall be provided. 
4. A second public entry portal for use in high-volume surge events and to potentially triage contaminated patients outside of the emergency services. 
5. Patient toilets between every 2 examination rooms to minimize exposure of patients and staff to special risk patients. 
6. Increased corridor width to allow the response to a surge through use of corridor space. 
7. Increased waiting room area for potential conversion to patient care areas. 
8. Large storage for disaster planning to house required gurney, disposable protective equipment, and other critical items. 
9. Increased size of examination rooms to accommodate double occupancy in emergency area. 
10. Free car parking spaces, reserved for disabled people and for carers with babies and young children, should be allocated beside the Emergency Department. 
11. Appropriate provision for a number of ambulances to park close to the           Emergency Department entrance and allow for safe patient disembarkation is required.  
12. The ambulance access area should be designed in conjunction with the Ambulance Service and facilitate appropriate turning circles etc. 
13. Considerations will include ambulance design and engineering issues, requirements for the urgent and discrete cleaning of ambulances; major incident planning and ambulance equipment storage e.g. storage of spinal boards   
14. The Ambulance Entrance should be close to the Emergency Department Resuscitation Room.  
15. The walk-in entrance should be discrete from the Ambulance entrance to protect patient privacy.    
16. Access must be possible for patients arriving by private transport to be dropped off close to the Emergency Department entrance.  
17. Water drainage of this area requires specific engineering specification and will need to be separate from the main hospital drainage system. 
18. A wheel-chair accessible reception booth should be provided and considered in the design. 
19. The triage is located adjacent to the admitting/waiting area. A wheelchair and/or stretcher may be stored in this area. 
20. The surgical service shall be located and arranged in emergency department so as to prevent non-related traffic. 
21. OPD services should be managed properly to avoid unnecessary crowding or queuing of the patients 
22. Make efficient use of space by locating support spaces so that they may be shared by adjacent functional areas. 
23. Group or combine functional areas with similar system requirements. 
24. Be served by modular, easily accessed, and easily modified mechanical and electrical systems. 
25. Appropriate, durable finishes for each functional space. Antimicrobial surfaces might be considered for appropriate locations in hospitals. 
26. Proper detailing of doorframes, casework, and finish transitions to avoid dirt-catching and hard-to-clean crevices and joints 
27. Admitting ample natural light wherever feasible and using color-corrected lighting in interior spaces, which closely approximates natural daylight. 
28. Critical care areas and CSSD will be near the operating rooms for easy and immediate access. 
29. Critical areas with walls/partitions could result in better infection control as compared to the critical areas with curtains. 
30. All/near-all monitors and patients must be observed, either directly or through the central monitoring system. 
31. Patients must be easily visible from the charting area whether the nurse is sitting or standing. 
32. Light switches should be strategically located to allow some patient control and adequate staff convenience. 
33. The ideal floor should be easy to clean, non-slippery, able to withstand abuse and absorb sound. 
34. Ceiling should be Soiling and break proof due to leaks and condensation. 
35. It is recommended that no lines or wires be kept or run over ceiling or underground because damages do occur. 
36. It should be easy to do repairs if the lines and pipes are easily explorable without hindering patient care. 
37. Fire safety protocols should meet prescribed local or national requirements. 
38. The obstetrics (delivery rooms) department shall be located in close proximity to the nursery such that it is easily accessible from the post-delivery rooms. 
39. The nurse stations of the in-patient areas shall be located so as to permit visual observation of patients. 
40. All in-patient rooms and wards shall be of sufficient size allowing efficient workflow and patient movement. 
41. The main OT corridor should be sufficiently wide in order to permit separation of passage of goods and services 
42. Holding areas for holding and management of patients prior to their operation or procedure. 
43. Recovery area should be near OT so the patient is easily transferred and is assisted through the process of recovering from the effects of anaesthetic. 
44. One compressed dental air outlet should be situated close to the service panels for medical gases, suction and electrical outlets. 
45. The design of the Operating Unit should allow for ease of access to the storage areas for delivery of Operating Unit consumables.  
46. The dietary preparation area shall be in a segregated area away from patient care areas. 
47. Radioactive departments shall be in the basement as it will save the cost of shielding (only five sides need shielding). 
48. The suite’s space and infrastructure must support the latest technology, allowing for multiple upgrades. 
49. Patient changing and staging areas should be designed for privacy and dignity. 
50. Family spaces can be designed for personal details and comfort, reasonably close to the exam spaces and facilitating a connection to daily activities.  
51. Staff work areas are designed to facilitate tasks and ergonomics to avoid repetitive work, staff comfort and ease of access to patients. 
52. The radiology department dimensions should support the weight of the equipment and appropriate clinical patient care. 
53. An essential and often overlooked component of MRI suites is soundproofing. 
54. Vibration can be controlled by isolated slab design and special anchorage details. 
55. Interior doors should be thick solid core flush panel wood doors or hollow metal doors in hollow metal frames. 
56. The adequate area shall be provided for the furniture and equipment storage. 
57. Adequate space for patient and attendant waiting areas in different departments shall be provided. 
58. Essential services like housekeeping shall be provided for each department. 
59. Service floor shall be placed as per the provisions of the National Building Code and convenience of the hospital (viz. above the OT floors) 
60. Handicapped toilets shall be provided on each floor. 
61. All the toilet door shall be opened outside. 
62. Staircases and elevators shall be placed at a distance on each floor. 
63. Planning for a pneumatic tube system for sending/receiving drugs, blood samples, reports, etc. could be time-saving and result in better operations. 
64. Corridors shall be wide enough for easy movement of the patients with stretchers/wheelchairs. 
65. Maintenance department, Main panel room, manifold room, Vehicular movement and other areas using motors and heavy metals shall be located outside the MRI exclusion zone. 
66. Proper signage on each floor, each department shall be provided for the easy patient and visitor circulation. 
67. Determine control areas early in design focuses on defining the type and quantity of the chemicals that may be used in the lab. 
68. Planning for appropriate and adequate storage is critical to avoid potential safety hazards and code issues. 
69. Coordination of Fume hoods and HVAC control system ensures adequate air change rates based on both facility requirements and lab type as well as ensuring lab pressurization. 
70. Considering equipment heat gains and coordinating with the mechanical engineer is fundamental to lab function design. 
71. Lab planners must consider and review a pathway for each piece of equipment to a building exit, accounting for all doors and turns from point of delivery to point of use and back again.  
72. Ceilings should be primarily of lay-in acoustic type. 
73. Wall and corner guards should be used in corridors and all other areas where damage from cart and stretcher traffic is anticipated. 
74. Used Instrument/Equipment Reception Area will connect directly to the wash room and be clearly segregated. 
75. The Inspection, Assembly and Packing Room (IAP room) should be a Class 8 clean-room with a pressure differential higher than that of adjoining rooms. 
76. A positive pressure should be maintained in the IAP room. 
77. A designated area should be provided next to the processed goods or equipment store for trolleys and containers used to despatch processed goods or equipment. 
78. Epoxy coating or a sprayed paint finish is appropriate in CSSD processing areas. 
79. Throughout the (CSSD) processing areas, stores and circulation spaces, a uniform floor level should be maintained. 
80. Continuous with the floor and finished flush with the wall, so that the junction between the skirting and the wall does not provide a ledge for the collection of dust. 
81. Doors should be adequately sized to allow clear passage of equipment. 
82. Windows in the wash room and IAP room should be non-opening, sealed and flush fitting. 
83. Windows should not be installed in CSSD storage areas. 
84. An outpatient entrance, also visible but separate from inpatient and visitor traffic, leads to ambulatory care clinics. 
85. The service entrance and loading bays need to be easily accessible but out of public view.  
86. Provide enough lighting between the bed and bathroom to reduce the likelihood of patient falls. 
87. Situate family space in the line-of-sight of providers to facilitate inclusion into the care conversation. 
88. Position furniture out of the way of the caregiver zone in an area that allows visitors to see and hear the TV without disturbing the patient. 
89. Pharmacy Walls must be constructed of durable material (e.g., heavy-gauge polymer) and panels must be locked together and sealed.  
90. Floors of pharmacy must be overlaid with wide, sheet vinyl flooring with heat-welded seams and coving to the sidewall. 
91. The buffer area or area inside the perimeter of a segregated pharmacy compounding area cannot contain water sources or floor drains. 
92. All hazardous drugs must be stored in a 0.01-inch wc negative-pressure room. 
93.  A biological safety cabinet (chemo hood) must be located in a negative-pressure room separated from all other compounding areas, regardless of the volume of hazardous drug compounding done by the hospital. 
94. Linen and laundry service should be located in the ground floor (in the services core area of the hospital). 
95. Linen and Laundry service area has a separate entrance and exit with unidirectional flow of linen which reduces the chances of dirty linen contaminating the clean product. 
96. The laundry layout is broadly divided into four basic areas: Reception and Sorting Area, Processing Area, Clean Linen Store and Tailoring Section. 
97. Linen and Laundry service area flooring is smooth, non-slippery, water impervious.  
98. Linen and Laundry service area Ceiling is smooth, washable surface and is high enough to allow installation and repair of all equipment. 
99. It is important for the security reasons that mortuary complex is near to the main hospital building.  
100. Mortuary complex must have a separate entrance and exist. 

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