NEWS

VIRTUE OUT OF NECESSITY:
REFLECTIONS ON COVID-19, DESIGN AND THE NHS
June 2020

As we have struggled to adjust to the present Covid-19 crisis and start to consider what the short, medium and long term impacts will mean for personal and professional lives, I have been fascinated to observe how the NHS has restructured to deliver its services in the midst of the pandemic. I have worked as an architect in the healthcare sector for over twenty-five years and this crisis has offered time to reflect on how improved strategic design of healthcare facilities could transform the NHS.

This article looks at the current context, collaboration with healthcare industry, pop up hospitals. the flexible use of facilities, technology and the wider ramifications of Covid 19 in the context of the climate emergency and impact on the built environment. …read more…

AfH says “Thank You” to Jane McElroy and Paul Murphy

At the recent AGM, both Jane McElroy and Paul Murphy stood down as Treasurer and Secretary respectively, after many years on the Executive Committee.

Chair Chris Shaw thanked them warmly for their significant and valued contribution to the development of the society and wished them well for the future.

AfH members had collected contributions towards farewell gifts for Jane and Paul: they were each presented with a bottle of award-winning champagne as well as John Lewis Partnership gift cards for a sizeable sum, thanks to the generosity of members.
27th February 2020.

Student Design Award 2020

Architects for Health Student Design Awards 2020
Covid 19 update
We are all experiencing very difficult times and we understand the additional pressure students and tutors will be feeling now. We also consider the additional workload and difficulties of working from home that all of the Architects for Health members, including the judges, will be experiencing at this time and we believe it would be unfair to add to this. So, it is with heavy heart that we have made the decision to cancel the Student Design Awards 2020. We will resume next year with vigour when all of this is over.
For more information and how to get in touch

Become an AfH Member

AfH membership runs annually from the date you join and makes you part of an ever-increasing network of like-minded people enabling you to share ideas, experiences and best practices in healthcare design, to keep up to date with the latest developments, and to get involved with others in enabling change.

AfH has a current membership of about 500 people who share our values across healthcare planning, design, and delivery. Become a member and get access to this expanding network.

Renewing your Membership

To renew your membership please visit this page, sign in to your account and make your payment. You can also upgrade your membership and/or change your method of payment. Similarly if you have a Practice/Company membership you can add or change your additional contacts too.

Sponsoring AfH

We have many sponsorship packages available. To find our more please get in touch.

European Health Property Network

The European Health Property Network has a membership of professionals from a wide range of disciplines and meets annually for a workshop, this year in Gothenburg. The EuHPN website https://euhpn.eu/ includes extensive documentation on workshops from 2011 onwards including access to speakers’ slides.

The sessions from Turin 2017 includes presentations by Carole Crane and Paul Mercer on the thorny topic of “guidance” as applied to healthcare developments.

Visit the EuHPN website again soon when the slides from Gothenburg will be available.

Our mission

Architects for Health (AfH) believes that the spaces of healthcare have an important effect on the well-being of patients, their friends and families, and that good design can positively influence patient outcomes.

We work to bring about well-designed and restorative health facilities, through enabling conditions for this change, both through our membership and with wider health institutions and communities.

By sharing ideas, experiences and examples, we are building knowledge networks that inform and support the future design of high-quality healthcare environments.
Find out more about us.

Guidance

Healthcare design guidance – mainly Health Building Notes and Health Technical Memoranda – are a vital part of health facility design but this guidance is now increasingly out of date and suffering from lack of recent investment.

Architects for Health have taken the initiative and held an industry-wide Round Table in late 2016 to debate the future of guidance.

• The conclusions and recommendations from the Round Table were wide-ranging and the full report can be viewed here
• AfH were also asked to conduct a survey across the industry and all who use or have used design guidance are invited to take the survey here

Cambridge University research study: Ward Design

Architects for Health members to contribute to a study being carried out by Andrew Livesey of Cundall. The paper aims to understand how ward design impacts occupant comfort during periods of strain in peak winter and peak summer, and to make recommendations for future developments. He already has some involvement from Public Health England, IHEEM and Nursing Times. Members are asked to complete a simple questionnaire using the link below.
Questionnaire – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/86T86CT
Explainer video – https://youtu.be/fNymAsGVtiU

News

The Journal of Health Design – Podcast
Listen to Christopher Shaw’s interview with Moyez Jiwa from the Journal of Health Design in Melbourne, Australia – from 28 February 2019.
https://www.journalofhealthdesign.com/JHD/podcasts

British Medical Auctions
For Project Teams involved in refurbishment or redesign. A service that will take old equipment or medical devices and send them to developing healthcare economies around the world. Proceeds from the sale of such equipment returns to the hospital Trust/Hospital Group for re-investment. Go to http://www.britishmedicalauctions.co.uk/ for additional information. Or write to paul.sherman@britishmedicalauctions.co.uk

Evidence Space
A platform organised by British Gypsum social media to share knowledge from Evidence Based Design academics, researchers, designers, clients and building users. Contributions from members of AfH would be welcome for publication on the website. Please go to http://www.british-gypsum.com/evidence-space/heal/evidence-based-design-in-healthcare for more information. Or write to Carly Lunt at carlyl@cibcomms.co.uk to discuss articles/research you may have written.