Customer service and quality care are the pillars of providing a positive experience for new and returning patients visiting your day hospital.
When it comes to the design of your day hospital environment, it makes sense to put the focus squarely on your patients ensuring they have a comfortable and stress-free experience.
What is Patient-Centric Design?
Patient-centric design involves considering the needs of your patients, families and staff prior to and after their procedure, and then fitting it out or refurbishing your hospital facilities to meet these needs.
This design method can be applied to all areas your day hospital environment – from the reception and waiting area to the recovery room – as your patients are likely to spend up to 3 hours in these spaces during their visit.
Make Your Waiting Area a Comfortable Space
As basic as it may sound, first impressions count (and last), so it’s essential that you meet your patients’ needs from the outset. The day hospital entrance, the front admission desk and waiting area all have an impact on how your patients will feel about their experience with you and your day hospital from the moment they walk through the doors.
While the design of your day hospital is based on clinical patient flow, that doesn’t mean your reception and waiting areas need to look that way. To help your patients feel comfortable and at ease, these areas should be warm and inviting. Coloured walls in calming or friendly tones, comfortable furnishings, artwork, and other visually appealing elements offer easy ways to achieve this.
Plants and flowers are another option to help make your reception area more inviting. Bringing natural elements indoors has also been found to offer wellness benefits, so this can be a win-win approach.
Have Clear Signage
Clear directions and welcoming signage help to “humanise” your day hospital and limit patient stress prior to undergoing a procedure. If you have separate “check in” and “check out” counters, having these clearly signed can streamline your patients’ time at the reception desk.
Design Your Recovery Area as a Restful Space
The post-op recovery area is a key space in a day hospital, so it’s important not to forget this area when designing a fitout or refurbishment. There are several ways to ensure your recovery area is patient-centred. This can be achieved by providing plenty of space, reducing noise levels, and incorporating natural light.
Minimise Noise
The recovery area within a day hospital is designated for rest and recuperation from a procedure or surgery. A noisy environment may have a harmful impact on a patient’s health and recovery.
While it’s difficult to make a day hospital recovery area a quiet place, there are ways to reduce the noise levels.
Incorporating specific building materials such as acoustic wall panels and ceiling tiles – while not soundproof – can help to reduce noise levels. Selecting heavier curtains to separate recovery bays or even carpet in appropriate areas are also good options to further reduce background noise in non-clinical work areas.
Incorporate Natural Light
The presence of natural light is generally agreed to have mental and physical health benefits, with daylight linked to speeding up the healing process.
When it comes to designing your recovery area, it’s worth exploring different options for incorporating natural light. Having your patients sitting in front of windows while having their post-procedure refreshments can help to improve their mood, as well as enhance the ambience of this typically clinical space. If windows aren’t an option for this area, there are other ways to create the illusion of daylight. This can include adding mirrors, ‘borrowing” daylight from another room and installing “hidden” lights that mimic the look of natural light.
Learn More
As specialists in healthcare design and fitouts, Elite Fitout Solutions has extensive experience in helping create patient-centric environments.
Contact the Elite team today to discuss your plans for your day hospital.
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