SINGAPORE – With standard design guidelines in place, new hospitals can now be built faster, at a potentially lower cost.
Key to this effort is Healthcare Facility Design Standards (HFDS) – the first framework in Singapore that harmonises hospital design principles across the public healthcare system.
“Singapore has always built wonderful hospitals over the decades that served our people well, and we can be very proud of them,” said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at the launch of the standards on Dec 9.
“But with an ageing population, rising healthcare demand, we will need to build and redevelop more and more hospitals. So we not only have to build good hospitals now, but we have to do so better, faster, and with greater cost-effectiveness.”
Standardising hospital designs would accelerate design processes for every new hospital development and made construction more predictable.
“A shorter project timeline is not an end itself. It brings many benefits… makes construction more predictable. It means we reduce cost variability and risk throughout the project. This will all lead to improved project costs.
Stressing that the system would benefit all parties, he said that having standard designs for clinical spaces such as wards, operating theatres, and operational areas such as disposal rooms meant that clinicians would not need to learn a new layout every time they went to a different hospital.
“This improves efficiency and supports better care delivery,” he said, pointing out that patients would get to receive care at hospitals which is delivered faster and better.
In addition, the care environment would also be safe as infection control measures are standardised and made consistent as with other public hospitals.
“The ultimate beneficiaries are the patients we serve, by hospitals that are delivered faster and better,” he said.
“Further, HFDS will enhance clinical safety and quality by ensuring consistent infection control measures, such as standardised sink placement and clearly defined ‘clean’ and ‘dirty’ workflow zones.”
The standards draw from the insights of clinicians and operators, and builds on the accumulated lessons from past healthcare development projects. Areas of standardisation include aspects of architecture, interior design, medical planning, mechanical and electrical systems, and construction methods.
The first public hospital project that fully applies the HFDS and will see time savings in construction is the
Tengah General and Community Hospital (TGCH)
.
