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What does the
future look like?
Excellence in future healthcare The new breed of smart and connected hospitals will
delivery will be enabled by flexible, have super-fast communications technology embedded,
adaptable buildings that are future- with thousands of sensors monitoring their rooms,
the building systems, and the patients themselves.
proofed by design. The sensors will feed patient data into systems with
sensitive algorithms and artificial intelligence that
A hospital commonly takes 10 years from inception will sift them for irregularities and alert doctors when
to delivery, and has a 60-year life span. So, in order to attention is needed. Powerful computer systems will be
remain effective through as many as three generations of at the heart of providing the analysis necessary to make
change, it will have to be technologically smart, resilient much more tailored interventions based on an individual
and - above all - flexible and adaptable to changing patient’s genetic make-up.
healthcare needs. A new hospital will need to respond
to the important trend towards prevention and wellness, As hospitals evolve to include technological hubs, they
and we are likely to see more of the ‘healthcare campus’ will require the capacity to deal with huge amounts
approach aimed at keeping people well in the first place. of data supporting diagnostic feedback from a range
of real-time sources including wearable or digestible
With a greatly reduced need to house outpatient sensors. Leveraging this data, along with using delivery
provision, and in-patients spending less time in hospitals, mechanisms such as telecare and video conferencing, will
it is easy to see how future hospitals may become provide one stop diagnosis directly to the patient at home.
smaller and more resource efficient all round, as the
focus of services shifts from reactively curing illness New hospitals will also need to be environmentally
and disease, to proactively promoting health and fitness. efficient, with highly-effective intelligent buildings
systems that link with room booking systems to turn
Hospitals will continue to treat the most complex off heating, air conditioning and lighting when it is not
cases, and provide for the most vulnerable patients, needed, and provide patients with control over their room
so facilities need to be based on a robust, reliable, environments via mobile devices and touch screens.
and resilient infrastructure that can accommodate the These systems will reduce running costs and carbon
most technologically-advanced procedures. But at the emissions while offering a better patient experience.
same time, hospitals will also evolve into technological
hubs, with outpatient services delivered straight to the There are ways to build in the flexibility and adaptability
patient’s home, while a network of community facilities, required to deal with changing healthcare needs.
perhaps built close to shops and other services, Modular construction systems can allow walls to be
provides the hands on nursing care and social taken out and spaces repurposed at very low cost.
support required by an ageing population. This approach means that when the requirement for
large outpatient treatment areas declines, rooms can be
converted or replaced quickly with other facilities, such
as extra care housing for people who may benefit from
being close to healthcare services. Other rooms can be
converted into technological hubs for telemedicine as
technology develops.
05 Future Ready Healthcare What if we can?
Core clinical services that are likely to remain, such as
surgical suites, will be centralised, with others located
peripherally. New ‘hybrid operating theatres’, where
both surgery and diagnostics can be carried out, can be
constructed from the outset of a hospital’s development,
instead of later in the process, with the space to
accommodate robotic assistants, augmented reality
devices and radiology equipment that monitors the
patient during procedures.
“As hospitals evolve to
include technological hubs, The flexibility to adapt to become a community resource,
focused on promoting healthy lifestyles, prevention and
they will require the capacity wellbeing, is one aspect of the resilience which will be
essential in new hospitals. But resilience will also relate
to deal with huge amounts of to the capability of hospitals to provide their own heat
and power efficiently, be self-sufficient in the event of
data supporting diagnostic outages and, at the same time, counter the effects of
feedback from a range of climate change and rising energy costs. Resilience aimed
at remaining operational during natural disasters such
real-time sources including as an earthquake or a flood will also be important in
some parts of the world, particularly where there is an
wearable or digestible sensors.” indication that such events could be more prevalent in
the future.
Resilience to disease and infection are another key
consideration, particularly given the trend towards
antibiotic resistance. Interiors fitted out with bacteria-
resistant materials and ‘self-healing’ surfaces will help
infection control, as will rooms designed for cleaning
by robots. A resilient hospital will increasingly enhance
the working environment, improving staff retention
and engagement rates making the facility extremely
competitive in attracting the very best clinicians.