The Future of Medical Clinic Design
There’s no doubt that the pandemic has shifted our daily lives. Although this historic turn of events first came as a hard pill to swallow, we now have accepted this new way of living in our personal lives, from social distancing, self-isolating and more. However, this pandemic’s influence has also overflowed into our professional lives as more workplaces are shifting toward flexible working arrangements. We’re exploring how medical spaces are now catering for these newly founded professional habits, and how you can incorporate them into your next fit-out.
INSPIRED BY | Dedicated Zoom Rooms
- The Zoom Room Boom
Given the shift to flexible working, the importance of communication over platforms like Zoom, Google and Teams has never been more important. In saying that, we’re now witnessing more businesses plan their fit-outs to include video call friendly spaces. These dedicated zoom rooms often have interchangeable backgrounds, specialised webcams and soundproofing. Doing so ensures communication is clear, professionally presented and as close to an in-person experience as possible. For our medical staff, the incorporation of a facility like this in your medical fit-out can improve your patient’s experience if your practice utilises online consultations and check-ups.
BUILT BY UNITA | The Sharp Clinic South Brisbane, QLD
- There’s No Place Like Home
An influence of working from home is its impact on our decor and furniture, with more individuals preferring a familiar and homely feel. As such, many clinics and practices are now ditching old + cold furniture for comfortable and vibrant pieces that bring the space to life, while maintaining the ease of cleaning and sanitisation. On top of this, we’re seeing different materials being incorporated into spaces. Rather than hard linoleum flooring or plain-Jane curtain drapes that purely served as a practical material choice, we’re beginning to branch out to more eclectic materials like various woodgrain finishes, polished concrete and contemporary fabrics. In terms of how we light up our spaces, we’re noticing the trend of spaces utilising different window glazing to bridge the gap between our indoor and outdoor spaces. Doing so can help open up and brighten your clinic while ensuring minimal impact on your space’s internal temperature.
BUILT BY UNITA | Cingulum Roseberry, NSW
- A Happy and Healthy Team
We’re all aware that the patient experience is empirical to ensuring a successful and memorable visit to your clinic or practice. However, We also need to consider our staff’s needs! Having areas that extend beyond the stock-standard “break room” can help improve staff morale and attitudes towards work, in turn resulting in improved patient care. A great way to go the extra mile is by improving areas like our consultation rooms and offices to be more spacious or feature unique furniture and decor to make the room somewhere your staff want to spend their time.
With personal and professional habits being reshaped from the pandemic, it’s important to recognise your staff and patients’ new set of needs and find solutions that benefit your clinic or practice as a whole. Small touches to the space like residential furniture and decor can dramatically improve its feel to make it a pleasant experience. As well, going the extra mile with your next fit-out by making conscious decisions surrounding materials and layout can transform the space completely both aesthetically and functionally.
