OPTIMUM DESIGN OF INTENSIVE CARE UNIT- AN EVIDENCE- BASED HEALING ENVIRONMENT

Successfully designing a new ICU requires clarity of vision and purpose and the recognition that the patient room is the core of the ICU experience for patients, staff, and visitors. The ICU canbe conceptualised into three components: the patient room, central areas, and universal support services. Each patient room should be designed for single patient use and be similarly configured and equipped. The design of the room should focus upon functionality, ease of use, healing, safety, infection control, communications, and connectivity. All aspects of the room, including itsinfrastructure; zones for work, care, and visiting; environment, medical devices, and approaches to privacy; logistics; and waste management, are important elements in the design process. Since most medical devices used at the ICU bedside are really sophisticated equipments, the ICU needs to be capable of supporting the full scope of medical informatics. The patient rooms, the central ICU areas (central stations, corridors, supply rooms, pharmacy, laboratory, staff lounge, visitor waiting room,) and the universal support services (infection prevention, finishings & and flooring, staff communications, signage & wayfinding, security and fire & safety) work best when fully interwoven. This coordination helps establish efficient and safe patient throughput and care and fosters physical and social cohesiveness within the ICU. Synchronisation of the universal support services in the ICU with the hospital’s existing systems maintains unity of purpose and continuity across the enterprise and avoids unnecessary duplication of efforts.