Hospital construction is a vital undertaking. That said, it has a wholly unique position in the construction sector.
After all, most other types of commercial developments are built from the ground up or closed down when renovation work is required. However, when it comes to healthcare, fresh new builds are incredibly rare, and they never close down when repairs and extensions to the premises are required. Construction firms involved require an entirely new skill set to make things work.
Patients are often present while these works go ahead. Given that many already have unsatisfactory experiences in some US hospitals, you should do everything possible to hold up your end of the deal. Patient well-being is always of the utmost importance.
So, what might be asked of you here? Read on for some tips for maintaining patient comfort during a hospital construction project.
Pre-Plan Flexibility
Patients’ needs are always ever-changing in healthcare. Though you may not be a fully trained medical professional, the varying health of nearby patients should be on your mind.
Usually, construction businesses adhere to a strict budget. Most costs will be accounted for, and the funding will be secure and proceed as forecasted.
Hospital construction projects can develop more flexibly. If certain emergencies occur in specific parts of the organization, your firm may need to reschedule and reallocate funding accordingly. Patient needs will be the shared priority of your employees and the medical staff, so adapting to that sentiment is key.
Planning is still essential, but you’ll need to have backup measures in place if things transpire differently than you envisioned. Collaborate closely with the medical personnel. They will ask questions about your progress, highlight changes to hospital schedules, and give you advanced notice of any potential delays that may come.
Use Healthcare Construction Management Software
The more organized your construction efforts are, the better. Medical staff will be less disorientated, and patients will experience better care and less disruption.
Healthcare construction management software can be crucial in keeping hospital construction efforts moving in the right direction. By using the software from Kahua, you can simplify budgeting and contracts and more. Funding sources can be better managed, and costs can be more tightly controlled. There’s more room for transparency and greater potential for making compliance measures more easily followed. The use of these tools paves the way for better patient experiences.
Few people in any sector would decry using tech that optimizes processes and saves workers valuable time. Workplaces in every industry are adapting to the latest digital innovations. By utilizing healthcare project management software, patients and medical staff will see that your construction firm is doing everything possible to make the hospital construction as painless as possible. Your competency can be comforting to others.
Establish Infection Controls
Construction activities can change the air in their vicinity of them. Dust, debris, and spores from mold can all have a lingering and harmful presence if the required steps to eradicate them aren’t taken.
Healthcare construction contractors must adhere to the Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) matrix. You and your colleagues will be better positioned to establish patient risk groups, identify types of construction project activities, and more accurately determine the class of precautions that should be taken. These range from one to five. Once you better understand these procedures, you’ll be more prepared to establish the necessary level of infection control.
If you know of ICRA principles, refreshing yourself on these measures is never a bad idea. You may catch something you missed or misunderstood, or perhaps amendments could be made at some point in the future. The most important best practices should be routinely revisited. Talking your workers through the procedures is also a great excuse to reaffirm your own contemplation of it all as well.
HEPA filtration units should be utilized. Negative air machines can also purify the air, so patients aren’t breathing anything toxic. All areas construction areas should be sufficiently cordoned off and protected. Healthcare facility operators should largely oversee these measures and give their construction crews the means of complying with ICRA. Try to arrive at that understanding with them before commencing work.
Hire a Hospital Liaison
Communication is imperative for providing comfort to patients during your construction work. Your ability to communicate should always be a priority.
Even simple communication can be challenging when working on a hospital construction project. There can be many different stakeholders who all have their own ideas about what the project should achieve. Obviously, you can’t attend to all of their different concerns and queries at once, which can leave patients in the lurch too.
A solution to this problem is appointing a committed hospital liaison. They will adequately represent the interests of yourself and the healthcare facility operators and ensure that communications are prompt and timely. Their presence can also remove any potential tensions that stall progress, as these professionals are trained to be mitigators and negotiators. Ultimately, their support can make working conditions more favorable, which will benefit patients in the end.
Undergo Sufficient Training
Of course, it’s easier to have tighter control over work processes if you and your fellow contractors have had sufficient training. There’s much to learn here.
Infection control demands an understanding of many things. Microbic, fungal, and mold pathogens should be studied and understood, from how they affect people to how they transfer through the air.
Discuss what you learnt with your colleagues and the medical staff you work with. If you can all show a comprehensive understanding of what’s at stake, it will bolster communication and trust and allow all parties to collaborate more closely in the best interests of protecting patients. A solo approach to training might benefit an individual, but the ultimate aim is to benefit all with the knowledge you pick up.
There are numerous online courses and workshops to engage with here. A diversified approach to the learning regimen is for the best, so consider learning from more than one source. Like with IRCA principles, you and your colleagues should keep up to date on the latest hospital construction methods to ensure a safe and comfortable environment for the patients around you.
Managing Noise Levels
Noise levels have to be controlled in a healthcare setting. Noise can seem inevitable during building works, but it’s not an acceptable stance to take for projects in the health sector.
It’s worth remembering that noise levels are more than just a bother. The aggravation can potentially interfere with patients’ recovery, even stalling things like the healing of wounds. It can also cause blood pressure spikes. The medical staff may need to spend more time with these patients, which can take away from their time spent with others.
Many of the drawbacks for those dealing with occupational noise exposure could also extend to patients too. Creating stress and interfering with communication can significantly detract from their comfort levels. After all, if they’re trying to receive important advice or difficult news from their doctor, the very last thing they will need is the sounds of banging, drilling, or the feeling of shaking floors and walls.
There are multiple ways to mitigate these issues. One way is to review scheduling and see if there are periods on the site where disruption is minimized. The other way is to explore a construction methodology around prefabrication. Factories can construct modular structures offsite, thus greatly reducing the amount of noise made at the hospital.
