My Trust is in the process of building a new ITU, and I have been asked by the Critical Care lead to get involved with this from a Sustainability perspective. We are currently in the planning phase (discussions with architects etc) so fairly early on.
Does anyone have any experience / resources that may help with inbuilding Sustainability into a new unit?
Thanks!
Hello Luke
What a fantastic opportunity to have a sustainability perspective from the outset of planning a new ICU!
An architect came to the last Critical Care Susnet Sharing Hour discussions who would be useful to speak to and I have some other ideas for you and contacts from Sweden in relation to sustainable design of ICU spaces.
Happy to put you in touch and pass on some resources. Here's my email if you'd like to discuss: H.Baid@brighton.ac.uk
Thanks,
Heather
Hi Luke,
I found this article recently, which is a literatre review on the ICU built environment in the last 15 years:
'Intensive Care Unit Built Environments: A Comprehensive Literature Review (2005–2020)' Verderber, S. et al (2021). Health Environments Research & Design Journal 2021, Vol. 14(4) 368-415
It has a section on environmental sustainability with recommendations about flexible space, non-toxic furnishings and finishings and how design affects behaviour.
Great opportunity to install low energy, dimmable / automatic lighting and energy-efficient heating/ventilation/air con systems.
And if you're able to design it in ways that facilitate patient recovery and rehab, with noise control, space for family visits and an outdoor space that's visible and accessible to patients, maybe it could be an opportunity to investigate if the built environment can influence patient recovery.
Good luck with the plans!
Rosie
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