Planning & Designing a Hospital

With the growth in the healthcare sector, planning and designing & focus on architecture of a hospital has assumed great importance in recent years.

Dr. Vitthal Kandekar , Director, Nayesha Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.  feels this specialized area of architectural planning and designing has been evolving through the introduction of NABH Accreditation norms. In addition to mandatory functional aspects of planning and designing a hospital, research has shown that recognizing the importance of the emotional and aesthetic aspects of the healthcare environment is also a critical aspect in hospital design. Sustainable design takes a whole new dimension when it comes to hospitals. Efficient utilization of space is very critical while not jeopardizing the functional requirements.

Designing a hospital according to NABH regulations is no small feat. It requires the ability to interpret the guidelines mentioned in NABH handbook, share the data with the hospital management team and visualize making sense of everything— all at an extreme level of detail.

“NABH standards are not prescriptive and are subject to interpretation, and that’s why there’s confusion. For example, typically in a hospital, you will have separate circulation areas for outpatient, inpatient, staff and services. If you don’t provide enough space, then there will be an intersection of movement of various providers. As is the case with any other regulation, NABH is no silver bullet. There are already several regulations, and if you follow the law of the land, it will be easier to design an NABH compliant hospital. What’s more Indian Public Health Standards can also be a good guide regarding the design of a Healthcare facility”

“The standards provide a framework for quality assurance and quality improvement for hospitals. It focuses on patient safety and quality of care. Further, the standards call for continuous monitoring of sentinel events and comprehensive corrective action plan leading to the building of a culture of quality at all levels and across all the functions,” states the official website of NABH.

The 10 chapters in the standard reflect two significant aspects of healthcare delivery, i.e.

Patient – centered functions (chapter 1-5) and Healthcare organization – centered functions (chapter 6-10).

Quality depends on not just setting up infrastructure, but also operating it.

NABH Guidelines includes the following:

1. Location of the Hospital.
2. Statutory Requirements.
3. Explicit requirements based on standard interpretation:

• The laboratory area, CSSD and rehabilitative service infrastructure should have adequate space to meet the defined scope of services.
• Patient rooms should be designed in accordance with NABH Accreditation norms.

4. Permits for Hospital:

• Land and construction: Land allotted for agricultural can’t be used. One who wants to build the hospital also needs to get multiple permissions with the local authorities. Land deed, architectural plan, Hospital infrastructure planning, etc. are to be approved. It also requires occupation certification.
• Electricity and water: As per the requirements, one needs to take permission from the local governmental body to obtain water and electric meter supply.
• Sewage and biomedical waste: One will also need permissions to install well-planned drainage system, incinerators, and other plans to dispose of the medical equipment, body parts, and other waste.

5. Signage Norms: 

“SIGN BOARDS: TAKING YOU ONE STEP CLOSER TO NABH ACCREDITATION”

6. NABH and Fire Safety

• NABH is committed to ensuring quality & safety of hospitals and healthcare organizations.
• The Facility Management & Safety (FMS) Standard covers Fire & other hazards.

Interpretations of NABH could always vary. NABH is not a fad. It represents a new era of designing hospitals that deliver quality healthcare by rewriting the existing quality trends of patient-centric design. There is no replacement for quality & safety in a hospital; NABH accreditation is definitely one of the major forces for attaining new standards in quality healthcare.

should not stand still. It should be linear and always ascending; it’s a journey, and the healthcare sector has surely made a start.

Nayesha Healthcare  provides 360° degree solution in planning and designing the hospital which is NABH compliant: 

Our services include:

Financial Analysis:

We handle all your financial worries for you… Be it funding the proposed hospital, finding out the optimal mix of debt, identifying potential investors or partners, determining the working capital needs for everyday running of the hospital, we do it all for you. We conduct a detailed analysis of the capital structure, projected cash flows, income and expenses and design financial structure to ensure that the hospital operates smoothly. Plus, you get a clear picture of capital structure, potential profitability, liquidity, revenue, cost asset utilization & many more to understand the financial viability of the project before investing your hard earned money!!

Site Analysis:

We conduct feasibility study for the potential hospital site & analyze complex features to tell you precisely if the suggested site will yield desired results for you. One of the first steps and perhaps the most important one, our turnkey consultants consider several factors including accessibility to the public, infrastructure development in the area of planned site, proximity to major centers, optimal hospital configuration, geographical conditions, climatic conditions etc. are given due consideration, as site selection would eventually have an impact on the profitability of the venture.

Project Infrastructure Execution:

We have liaison with leading architects, interior designers & hospital project consultants with several years of experience in hospital design & planning. Our consultants pay great detail to planning at the designing stage to give you a scalable solution. Our advanced automation solution enhances the work efficiency of the hospital reducing monthly utility bills. Since we are the leading NABH consultants in India; we plan your hospital as per NABH Accreditation norms. This goes a long way in building trust & confidence amongst the patients.

Hospital Quality Consulting:

Being one of the few healthcare consulting firms in India with QCI Membership, we ensure that your hospital is truly world class; when it comes to patient care. We help you with all the procedure, processes & documentations needed for accreditation with the NABH, which is mandatory for a hospital. We provide the framework that leads to quality control at all levels. We encompass all the criteria laid down by the NABH including patient care, medication management, infection control, facility management & much more. We leave no stone unturned to ensure your hospital gets the name & fame it deserves!!

Operational & Functional Management:

Our Smart Solution encompasses advanced automation for seamless operational & functional management of the hospital. Inventory Management, re-order quantity, manpower management, staff salary, leave management, workflow process, capacity management, optimization of physical networks, quality & process management etc. is automated to a great extent. Our aim is to ensure hassle free day to day operations at reduced cost, enhanced efficiency & improved profitability. Our advanced automation includes patient history, treatment, visit records & billing. It helps in quick & error free billing for patients, which in turn helps in smooth flow of operations which provides patients to be satisfied with the services.

Nayesha Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.  is committed to

“Aligning Quality to Healthcare”