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The next big thing is coming to healthcare design and that is the introduction of concierge desks to work alongside the main reception space in your clinic. According to Best Upon Request, hospital concierge can help raise satisfaction scores, streamline patient flow, elevate clinical efficacy, and decrease clinician burnout.

To determine if this might work for your practice, we have listed the reasons why it’s time to consider it. 

Provides an added level of care for visitors and patients

Just like some banks that are now re-introducing staff to welcome you at the door upon entry, the same principle is occurring among healthcare practices. Having a concierge for visitors adds that competitive edge to your standard healthcare centre. 

A concierge will welcome new visitors, help them set up their new account with your medical centre, perhaps even going that extra mile while they wait. Technology is introduced with having I-Pad stations located nearby, allowing visitors to check-in or update their personal information file; all to which a concierge can help assist with. 

Help ease a busy reception in your hospital or clinic

Are your visitors lining up at the reception when they first enter the practice? You might find this inconvenience can instigate a negative outlook towards their visit from the get-go. It might even result in a reduction in your client/patient retention numbers. A concierge is your easy solution to this common problem. 

Instead of having one point of contact at your reception, consider splitting the functions into two groups. Welcoming guests, checking in and answering any questions could be dealt with by a concierge, while admin work and payments can be handled at the main reception. This also means your reception can be in a more private area for your visitors when dealing with payments. 

Improves privacy  of your patients

A concierge at the entry of your practice results in your reception desk being able to be in more private space; this is great for your patient’s sense of privacy. That way the feeling of being overheard when talking about private information can be avoided. 

Whether designing a new children’s hospital, a gynaecology clinic, or mental health facility, interior projects come with their own host of challenges and solutions to appeal to this specialised patient population. Healthcare interior designers and architects are tasked with incorporating the right layouts, colours, aesthetics, and waiting room designs to help calm nerves and reduce the stress of a patient’s visit to the doctor or hospital.  

It pays to rely on combined experienced medical fitouts experts. Interite Healthcare Interiors has more than 30 years’ experience in the healthcare design industry and one of Australia’s leading design firms. To get started, contact one of our team today by giving us a call at 1800 973 236 or send us an email at info@interitehealthcare.com.au .  

Do you find yourself drooling over high end healthcare facility designs and finishes, and wishing your facility could look as good?

Did you know that professional interior designers can transform your space or help you construct a new space at a fraction of the cost you might spend if you went off on a commercial shopping spree?

Here’s 3 ways on how bringing in the healthcare fitout experts can overhaul your healthcare facility while still saving you a pretty penny:

1. Space utilization

Professional interior planners can identify under-utilised space a mile away.

While you may think your layout ticks all the boxes, a practiced eye can immediately spot the optimal way to leverage your current square meterage.

What they can come up with may just make you realise how many in-house options you have to play with, removing the need for a costly relocation.

2. Smart finishes

Interior healthcare designers have a huge amount of experience in selecting finishes which not only cover off on healthcare design standards but also delight your senses, completely transforming boring or otherwise sterile spaces.

The clever use of colour, texture, biophilic influences and appealing materials can make your healthcare facility look like it just stepped out of a glossy magazine, while still retaining all the functionality necessary in a medical space.

3. Human centred

More than almost any other environment, your healthcare space must be designed with the needs of the user front and foremost.

Human-centred design is focussed on engaging, nurturing and facilitating all users, from patients to staff to practitioners, making the space harmonious and workflows run smoothly to ultimately enhance outcomes.

Discuss your medical fitout and construction needs with Interite Healthcare Interiors today on 1800 973 236 or info@interitehealthcare.com.au 

There are many sounds specific to medical and healthcare environments. These range from patient/ doctor interactions, equipment functions and visitor conversations just to name a few.

While these noises correlate with beneficial activities, noise transfer in medical and healthcare facilities is an unwanted side effect and an issue commonly overlooked during the planning and development phase of a medical practice design project. Retrofitting this critical function later in the project however is complex and expensive, so integrating an acoustic management plan early on is strongly recommended.

Why you should care about acoustics management

Considered acoustic integration supports patient privacy, improves concentration and accuracy, and reduces stress for all users of a healthcare space; an environment which is already pressurised by nature.

Speech privacy facilitates open conversations among patients, family members, staff and the multitude of other stakeholders using the space. If patients are not assured of complete privacy, they may hesitate to comprehensively outline their medical conditions and/or concerns, potentially putting their health at greater risk.

Privacy is not the only consideration. In an age where the user experience is becoming as equally important to the product offered, providing clients with a superior environment which obviously considers all their needs is paramount.

How is noise transferred in medical facilities?

Noise generally travels from space to space via one or more of the following:

• Passing through doors and gaps between doors and frames;
• Passing through uninsulated walls;
• Reverberating off hard surfaces like glass and flooring;
• Passing through poorly insulated ceilings and gaps above walls; and
• Circulating within substandard design spatial layouts.

More than most other environments, medical and healthcare facilities must have strategies to offset each of these avenues to protect the interests and improve the experience of all patients and staff using the space.

What you can do to improve your practice acoustics

Interite Healthcare Interiors is a specialist designer of medical facilities across Australia. Our experience delivering hundreds of healthcare projects has identified the importance of acoustic attenuation in achieving a successful result. To this end, Interite Healthcare Interiors recommends the following techniques as ways to reduce noise transfer:

• Masking: Diminishes the presence of sound like white noise;
• Damping: Creating a barrier between spaces;
• Absorbing: Using techniques and materials like sound absorbing ceiling tiles, furniture and acoustic feature panels fixed to walls and ceilings; and
• Diffusing: Diminishing reverberated sound as it moves.

Interite Healthcare Interiors offers a range of Acoustics Management packages to simplify the process of reducing noise transfer within your healthcare facility.

If you are seeking to refurbish or establish your healthcare space, please reach out to our team at Interite Healthcare Interiors on 1800 973 236 or info@interitehealthcare.com.au.

Designing for both the patients and staff in facilities providing healthcare services has evidently evolved over the years. There are many factors to consider when designing a medical facility. From the emergence of new technology to patient experience, patients feel at ease when they are vulnerable, whilst designing to enhance infection control.

Human-Centred Design (HCD) is the pivotal factor in meeting the needs of patients, their visitors, and staff. However, it’s imperative to note user’s needs can change from now to a few years’ time. Many critique HCD for not being relative to the future. So, how do you design a healthcare space that fits the needs of the users both now and into the foreseeable future?

Interite Healthcare Interiors’ Design Relationship Manager, Kate Manser explains how COVID-19 has impacted the interior design of healthcare facilities, “Over the past 18 months we’ve worked with our clients to incorporate ways of designing with furniture that is infection resistant and spaces and technology that reduce or eliminate the need for human touch. We are always integrating elements of residential interior design to ensure patients feel cared for in a space that is comfortable and secure. This results in the reduction of anxiety felt in patients around the stigma of visiting a medical practice, particularly now more than ever.”

Also important to note, the design of a medical space is not just about the walls, the utilities, and the colours. “When designing a space, we work closely with our clients to understand not only what they want in their practice but also who their typical patient is, we understand those needs change over time. The key is to be innovative, adaptive, and forward-thinking, all whilst not overcompensating. Design concepts can be timeless and tasteful and still be world-class. We pride ourselves on delivering projects that convey both physical comfort and offer psychological relief, whilst retaining the superior quality and optimal functionality”, said Kate.

There are always opportunities to not only improve the patient experience but also to create a leaner business model. For example, rigorous schedules to adhere to the foot traffic within a clinical trials facility has the potential to significantly strain resources. Kate explains further, “Cleverly designing the floorplan to achieve a productive workflow, patient comfort and discretion is key. We did this by incorporating numerous nurse’s stations, additional pharmaceutical storage and dispatch areas, acoustically designing rooms to allow for patient rest and recovery, and discrete drop off points for personal samples”.

From General Practitioners to residential aged care facilities, our design team approaches the design of each medical facility on an individual basis. Kate elaborates how an HCD approach has in the past been applied to two different clients, “We designed one family practice around the five senses – fruit to taste, an integrated 75-inch vertical screen to touch, the aroma of diffusers to smell, greenery and strategic choice of lighting to pleasure sight, and background music to calm the soul. This approach really set the practice apart from its contenders and continues to provide a patient experience second to none”.

By comparison, when designing an aged care facility with most residents living with Dementia it was integral to include elements that connected residents with places and objects to provide security and familiarity. “Incorporation of artwork throughout the building of Perth then and now images, as well as iconic landmarks, will help the residents to re-connect and engage. At the same time we also aligned with the requirements of a high functioning care environment”, said Kate.

If you are seeking to design a healthcare space, please reach out to Interite Healthcare Interiors on 1800 973 236 or info@interitehealthcare.com.au.

Your ambitions are to begin your own healthcare practice or to refurbish your existing; we find the number one question amongst our clients is “how much will it cost?” and secondly, “how do I access the funds to make it happen?”.

Keeping your space on-trend with the latest designs and technological advances can aid in bringing in more clients. Not only will it help increase staff retention with an improved workspace, but also

increase productivity and positiveness. However, renovating your space or re-locating can be a headache, especially if you’re planning to oversee the whole project yourself, whilst running a business.

“At Interite Healthcare Interiors, our main objective is to make the process seamless and hassle-free for our clients, no matter what their budget and timeframe. Our team is focused on taking care of the whole process from supporting the funding process, initial consult and design, to approvals, build and handover. We ensure the client has all the resources and support to make their project happen”, said Luke Sharpe, Project Consultant.

The simple answer to how much you will need to invest in your medical space is dependent on several factors:

1. Re-location, current location, or start-up business. Assess your business needs and motivations. If you’re simply feeling restless or in need of a change, this can be achieved without all the hassle of bringing in packing boxes. So many things from finishes to the more solid architectural detailing can be addressed in the interior design of your space to meet the need for change without ditching a very decent property in the meantime.

Consider your current location. In our eagerness to move on to the ‘next big thing’, we can forget what drew us to our current location in the first place. Be critical in your assessment. Rate the pros and cons of the exterior, location, interior fitout, leasing arrangement, growth potential and patient demography to remember what works for you where you are. It may be worth continuing to leverage the aspects that already work for you while refurbishing the tired or outdated elements of your healthcare practice.

2. Impact on operations. There are lots of costs to consider and they aren’t all evident from the get-go. Checking your lease carefully to understand any break costs or make good expectations is vital. Remember also that any substantial move will result in downtime and interrupt your service delivery which will impact revenue in the short term, and sometimes even into the future as your past demographic drop off. Then there are subcontractor costs to consider, utilities to re-establish, insurances to reassign and the list goes on.

3. Sustainability versus traditional materials. The use of natural stones and timbers can bring feelings of home into a healthcare space, these can be vital in creating a positive patient experience and they can also be added into a design cost-effectively. Sustainable flooring options can be an expensive addition but worth considering if you have the budget to suit. The use of existing materials, although all good intentions are at hand, can be costly. Working existing furnishings, and designs into a new space can be costly and can have negative implications on the design outcome.

4. Smart finishes. Interior healthcare designers have a huge amount of experience in selecting finishes which not only cover off healthcare design standards but also delight your senses, completely transforming boring or otherwise sterile spaces. The clever use of colour, texture, biophilic influences and appealing materials can make your healthcare facility look like it just stepped out of a glossy magazine, while still retaining all the functionality necessary in a medical space.

5. Space utilisation. Professional interior planners can identify under-utilised spaces a mile away. While you may think your layout ticks all the boxes, a practised eye can immediately spot the optimal way to leverage your current square meterage. What they can come up with may just make you realise how many in-house options you have to play with, removing the need for costly relocation.

6. Tax treatment. “Temporary full expensing” rules for eligible assets, may allow you to claim an immediate tax deduction for expenditure on new assets installed between 6 October 2020 – 30 June 2023. Kevin Duda, Director, Private Business Tax & Advisory at Grant Thornton advised, “you should seek tax advice from your adviser to determine if your proposed expenditure will qualify for an immediate tax deduction”.

Ultimately, although you might ‘just want to move’, successful businesses take stock of their balance sheet and make rational decisions on that basis. Whether you’re a business in the private or public sector there are grants available to you, at different times. We can assist you in navigating funding avenues with grant consultants as well as some of Australia’s major banking institutions.

If you are seeking to refurbish or establish your healthcare space, please reach out to our team on (08) 9354 0111 or info@interitehealthcare.com.au.