Why hospital infrastructure is in the news?
Of course, we all know that structures that serve the purpose of a hospital during an emergency cannot serve the purpose in the long run. What makes a hospital structure a hospital or what qualifies it to become one?
Let’s deduce what we need in a hospital:
Access to the hospital with proper entry and exit points
- Lots of natural sunlight
- Access to clean and maintain high façade areas and internal structure
- Foolproof HVAC system in the OT, Wards and ICUs
- Well-defined infection control regime
- Proper patient management systems
- And more…
Adding specifically on the entry areas, Dr. Anjali Tewari, Director – Lab Sciences and Medical Superintendent, Regency Hospital Ltd, Kanpur has said, “There should be separate entrances in critical areas, and laminar airflow should come from the head end of each bed. It is important to ensure corridors throughout the ICU and the OT, as well as to maintain isolation as needed.”
To emphasize, as Dr. Upasana Arora, Director, Yashoda Super Specialty Hospital Ghaziabad puts it, “At the time of Covid, we realized certain things like how to separate and define areas in terms of air circulation. You need to create certain policies, innovate to achieve what you need, and experiment with new technologies to keep your facilities safe and clean.”