We continue our guide to the categories in this year’s Building Better Healthcare Awards with an insight into the Award for Best Internal Environment.
One of three awards up for grabs in the Patient Experience class, the category will recognise an ‘outstanding therapeutic space that enhances the overall healthcare experience for patients, staff and visitors through an effective approach to interior design’.
The judges are looking for projects that are completed and fully operational. These can include interior design schemes, art projects, building refurbishments and alterations.
Each entry must include a 500-word overview of the scheme, explaining how it meets the criteria set out by our esteemed judging panel. They will be looking for:
- A scheme which respects the modesty, privacy and dignity of patients, staff and visitors
- A project that creates a welcoming and attractive environment that helps to lift the spirits
- A scheme that demonstrates ease of access into and around the building
- An intervention that addresses key issues such as infection control, patient safety and security
- A project that promotes sustainability
- Demonstration of innovation within the field that sets a precedent for the design of future spaces
Click here for the full criteria.
When making their decision the judging panel will be looking for projects that were completed between 1 January 2012 and 1 June 2013.
This overview of your entry is your only chance to grab the attention of our judges. Therefore, failure to cover all of the points laid out in the criteria could result in your entry not making the shortlist. The judges can only make their decision based on the information you put in front of them.
Accompanying images should illustrate the issues outlined in your written submission, with actual pictures of the completed developments. Our judges are some of the most widely respected in the field of building design and the patient experience, so they will be looking closely at the overall impact the intervention has on staff, patients and visitors.
Last year the winner of the category was Bradford Royal Infirmary for its refurbishment of wards 23 and 29. The nurse-led project aimed to enhance the décor and improve the environment for patients with dementia. This included the introduction of LED-lit boxes defining patient beds and housing a familiar object in which they can personalise their space. Patient toilets were also identified with dementia-friendly signage and red toilet seats - a small yet high impact intervention that can reduce the potential for falls and injuries significantly. Other interventions included LED lighting in bedrooms, a film installation
The judges said of the entry at the time: “This is a breath of fresh air in terms of interior design in a clinical environment. It is about people inhabiting spaces in a thoughtful manner. The project was nurse led and involved the local community as part of a multi-disciplinary team. The resulting social spaces on the wards are very difficult to find in many other buildings.
In 2011, the prize went to the bereavement suite at York Hospital. Developed as part of the King’s Fund’s Enhancing the Healing Environment project, the design brief placed great emphasis on providing a calm and quiet space away from the busy clinical environment where relatives could seek private solace and support to deal with issues including registering a death, collecting belongings and picking up death certificates.
Sarah Waller, the category head judge, said: "The needs of relatives were paramount in the design. Light and colour, the non-institutional furniture, fittings and integral artworks, together with the adjoining private garden, provide a well-designed supportive space for people at a very distressing time in their lives. "The design meets all the criteria. It respects privacy and dignity and provides an environment that lifts the spirits. They have used the space available extremely well."
Do you think you have a project that could qualify for the Award for Best Internal Environment? If so, click here to read more about this year’s event and all the categories, and to submit your entry. The closing date is 28 June and each entry costs just £99 plus VAT. You can enter as many categories as you wish, but entries must be adapted to suit the particular category being entered.
Click here to see all the winners from 2012 and the reasons they were singled out for praise by our judges.
If you need further help or advice on your entry call Jo Makosinski on 020 7193 8083 or email jom@hpcimedia.com. There are also some exciting opportunities to sponsor awards and to exhibit at the champagne reception that will be held prior to the awards ceremony. To discuss a tailor-made package, or to book your seat at the ceremony, contact Stephen Fontana by email at stephenf@hpcimedia.com or call 020 7193 1641; or Ali Badr alib@hpcimedia.com or call 020 7193 6654.