APPENDIX A
Statement from John Clarke of Strategic Healthcare
Planning, the Trust's Health Planning and Architectural Adviser
for Worcestershire Royal Hospital PFI.
I felt that the Trust and the Consortium had
a common goal. The common goal was that they wanted to build a
hospital that responded to flexible models of care, and one which
both the Trust and the Consortium could consider to be a flagship.
It was a case of genuinely working together to fulfil this goal.
The design was developed combining American and English approaches
to healthcare whereby the American models were anglicised to suit
the visions of the Trust. This can be illustrated in three examples:
1. An integrated approach to emergency services
by virtue of co-location of associated specialities. The building
was designed to respond to trauma services. We have A&E adjacent
to specialist radiology, intensive care and theatres which in
turn are adjacent to trauma wards, which also include therapy
services for the ongoing treatment for trauma patients and emergency
medical wards, including cardiology.
2. The development of ambulatory services.
At the time of the commencement of the design of this hospital
the UK had not embraced the approach to ambulatory services that
is now being generally adopted. The design of this hospital brought
about the integration of ambulatory services within the general
hospital setting through the co-location of associated activities,
eg general and specialist outpatient departments, clinical investigation,
outpatient radiology, endoscopy and day care surgery. The day
case theatres were co-located with inpatient theatres to facilitate
flexible working across the boundaries.
3. Flexibility of inpatient planning. The
ward templates were designed to accommodate future flexibility
within current guidelines. Each ward floor level has a 72 bedded
template and is designed with multiple staff bases that facilitate
nursing of bed numbers in combinations from 6 to 36, thereby providing
much flexibility as trends change.
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