Improving Healthcare through Built Environment Infrastructure

From the Foreword by Rob Smith, Director of Estates and Facilities (NHS England), Department of Health

‘The built environment for the delivery of Healthcare will continue to change as it responds to new technologies and modalities of care, different expectations and requirements of providers and consumers of care. It is vital that built environment students and practitioners alike avail themselves of the best possible information to guide them in their studies, continuing professional development and the delivery of their tasks. The range is enormous from the assessment of need, planning the service delivery to design, construction, commissioning, maintenance and operation of the healthcare environment.

The book that follows addresses these areas from a blend of contributions of experienced practitioners to the descriptions of the output from recent research that moves forward the frontiers of knowledge and practice in the many areas of the healthcare built environment.

I happily commend this book to all engaged in the exciting fields of planning, delivering, maintaining and operating healthcare environments. When we get it right, we are able to do immeasurable good.’

This book helps academic researchers as well as practitioners to understand how the healthcare infrastructure sector works by addressing the crucial issue of healthcare delivery from a built environment perspective.

It explains the trends in healthcare, models of healthcare delivery; healthcare planning; the NHS building and investment programmes; the procurement process; and facilities management; financial models – including PFI and LIFT; risk allocation and partnering.

Past investigations in the area of healthcare delivery have concentrated on either the medical aspects or the design issues of buildings but Improving Healthcare through Built Environment Infrastructure is unique in considering the ‘meeting space’ of built environment technologies and modern methods of procurement with the medical and operational needs of healthcare settings.

The authors have brought together key industrialists and academics, all heavily involved in the formulation and delivery of new practices. Case studies illustrate how policies and healthcare models are implemented in practice and help identify the key challenges for the future.