An investigation into the link between health care facility design and service provision

Health facilities represent a significant investment in infrastructure and national wellbeing. Health facilities also represent a unique and complex building type that involves many user groups and consultants, a concentrated use of engineering services, and intense twenty-four hour a day use. In common with other large infrastructure projects, the construction of a major health facility is a relatively infrequent and significant event that generally requires the application of complex briefing strategies and non-traditional procurement methods. This has the potential to decrease the efficiency of the design, documentation and construction process, and increase the unpredictability of project outcomes unless each new project is systematically recorded and that data used to inform future projects. This is not presently the situation. This paper will describe the preliminary results of an Australian Research Council Linkage-Project conducted in conjunction with Helping Hand Aged Care Inc., Delfin Lend Lease and Spotless Services Limited. The research project used a multiple embedded case study research method to develop a comprehensive picture of the relationship between procurement processes, the post-occupancy provision of health services, and resident quality of life in three aged care facilities. The evidence presented will include a description of the research method and summary of the data collected through documentary analysis, observational studies and self-report surveys from two of the facilities used in the study. As with recent research into office environments (Leaman and Bordass, 2000), the findings indicate a strong link between the design of the physical environment and the capacity of service providers to provide efficient and effective health care. The findings further suggest that both the briefing and documentation phases are critical factors in the development of efficient and responsive physical environments. The research ultimately aims to provide economic benefits through improved worker productivity and a reduction in post occupancy alterations to the physical environment. The authors also intend to extend the research into studies of major hospital facilities