Patient care, sustainability lead priorities in MENA hospital design and construction

Challenges and future expansion plans of regional hospitals revealed at Hospital Design and Infrastructure Conference in Dubai

Dubai, UAE, 8 April, 2015: Integrating nursing and patient friendly design has been revealed as the top priority in designing new hospitals throughout the Middle East and North Africa, according to a new survey.

Commissioned by Informa, the survey was conducted among architects, engineers and project heads from hospitals throughout the MENA region to identify the latest trends in the construction of medical facilities.  The respondents cited patient care as number one, followed by the importance of embedding environmentally friendly and sustainable design.

The healthcare construction industry results have been revealed ahead of the 12th edition of Hospital Design and Infrastructure, a four-day conference running from 19-22 April at The Address Hotel Dubai Mall.

The top four challenges in building new healthcare facilities were: project management; identifying the right architects and developers; identifying medical equipment providers and planners; and licensing and accreditation.  

Air quality was deemed the most important factor when considering building new facilities, with 81% of respondents citing it, while almost half of respondents listed lighting (49%) and landscapes (48%) as contributing factors.

A platform for interactive debate, learning and inspiration in the latest advancements and innovations in healthcare facility design and construction, Hospital Design and Infrastructure will welcome more than 20 influential healthcare speakers from across the Middle East.

Bringing together leading healthcare regulators, operators, architects and engineers, the conference will discuss unique approaches, advancements, applications and outcomes in facility planning, design and construction to develop unique healthcare built environment processes and build state-of-the-art healthcare systems.  

The opening day of the conference will feature a key note address by Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, Director, Health Regulation Department at the Dubai Health Authority, who will discuss integrating transition planning with licensing and accreditation requirements to deliver successful and timely projects.

Speaking before the event Dr. Al Marzouqi said: “Hospital design helps in effective delivery of healthcare and goes a long way in improving patient friendliness.  With advances in design, technology and access to updated knowledge, hospital designs have advanced tremendously over the years and surveys such as this one are vital to highlight challenges and advances in hospital design.”

Barbara Spurrier, Administrative Director at the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation USA said: “Our Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation is working to transform the experience and delivery of health and health care.

“The core of our model is human-centered design to understand the needs of patients and staff as we build new services and products to meet those needs.  Our health and health care infrastructure needs to incorporate a human-centered design approach so our built environments work for the people who occupy them.”

Claude Allain, Vice President and General Manager for Johnson Controls in the Middle East, added: “The Middle East, and specially GCC countries, have emerged as leading providers of dependable, world class healthcare.  This conference is providing a commendable forum for companies such as Johnson Controls to showcase technologies that enable healthcare facilities in improving patient outcomes as well as operational efficiency.

“Johnson Controls helps healthcare facilities globally in delivering optimised patient care through its Healthcare Environment Optimization™ solutions ensuring savings and operational excellence in varied applications from ORs to central utility plants.”

Hospital Design and Infrastructure will include workshops on evidence-based design application, lean methodologies and simulations, and the human aspect of design. A number of round table discussions will also feature with key conversations on elements to be considered in design for building healthcare facilities.

Lydia Fowler, Divisional Director at Informa, organisers of Hospital Design and Infrastructure, said:  “The survey findings have outlined pertinent challenges being faced across the region when it comes to the building of new healthcare facilities. Our conference programme has been specifically designed to address some of those challenges. It creates a platform for leading healthcare experts and industry players to come together to discuss solutions.”

Healthcare providers participating at the conference include Al Ain Hospital, Apollo Hospitals Group, Clemenceau Medical Centre, European Centre for Health Assets and Architecture, Dubai Health Authority, Hamad Medical Corporation, Mayo Clinic Centre for Innovation, National Hospital Riyadh, Parkway Pantai, Medstar Healthcare, Tawam Hospital and Universal Hospital.

The four-day conference is officially supported by Silver Sponsor Johnson Controls, Strategic Partner Perkins Eastman and Notebook Sponsor, nora®.