Hospital construction: challenging projects for good healthcare

Building a hospital is a large project that involves many experts and countless workers and contractors. They are all coordinated to reach a common goal: a building that serves the wellbeing of patients. MEDICA exhibitor Axis Medical has a lot of experience with this – read more in our interview!

Ioannis Ioannidis sat down with MEDICA-tradefair.com to talk about the challenges of hospital construction during the corona pandemic. He also explains what sustainable hospital construction looks like and where the industry is heading.

Mr. Ioannidis, what was the most challenging project for your company and why?

Ioannis Ioannidis: Every project has been a challenge! The most interesting part of our job is the fact that in every case we must deal with different specifications, location, time restrictions, technical and/or managerial obstacles. Our mission has always been to deliver the perfect result, implementing our expertise and ability.

I would highlight as big challenge one project which has been a flagship for our company: An 18-bed mobile ICU, with a total area of 320 square meter, consisting of 12 container-type boxes plus the electromechanical yard. The project was designed and executed entirely by our company, at the level of civil and electromechanical disciplines as well as medical equipment.

What has been challenging about it?

Ioannidis: Due to the fact that it was built during the peak of the pandemic, the goal was to construct and equip the mobile ICU within 59 days. The main challenges were:

• Extreme time limits as the hospitals had no more capacity in ICU for COVID patients.
• Demanding project management in order to have every single civil or electromechanical part and piece of equipment in place at the right time, when, at the same time, all providers had a huge lack of materials and hardware.
• Logistics and transportation organization.
• Safety measures for more than 120 technicians and engineers on site.
• High quality and technical standards.

We met the challenges and successfully delivered the project, which was launched by the Greek Prime Minister and was a donation of the Committee "Greece 2021".

The projects abroad also have been big challenges mainly in terms of project management, local resources, and perfect preparation before shipment. Many of the projects have been far away like North Norway, Indonesia or Russia. A big challenge for us was a 700 square meter NICU in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which we constructed and delivered as turnkey to the Ministry of Health.

Has something changed in the way hospitals are planned and built due to the corona pandemic, for example regarding intensive care units and isolation wards?

Ioannidis: Due to the pandemic, the need for more controlled and isolated areas was obvious. Axis Medical, mainly, built numerous new ICU departments. Hermetic, isolated rooms, negative pressure chambers have been the new "trend" in hospital wards, due to the needs and the circumstances. This was probably the major change in hospital design through the pandemic, which will leave as a heritage this infrastructure for a future, similar, unpleasant occasion of another pandemic.

Sustainability is becoming more and more important in the medical area. What significance does this topic currently have in hospital construction?

Ioannidis: It is becoming increasingly important as it addresses various environmental and social concerns, as well as improving the health and well-being of patients, staff and the wider community. Hospitals consume a significant amount of energy and resources, and generate a large amount of waste, making them heavy contributors to the carbon footprint. In addition, the indoor environment of hospitals can have a direct impact on the health of patients, so designing and building sustainable, modern hospitals can improve patient outcomes and reduce the environmental impact.

How can you, as a company, ensure sustainability in construction?

Ioannidis: There are a few measures that can be taken:

• Reducing waste: Implementing waste management strategies, such as recycling, and minimizing the use of single-use materials, can reduce the waste generated during construction.
• Energy efficiency: Utilize energy-efficient technologies, such as LED lighting, high-efficiency HVAC systems, and on-site renewable energy sources, to reduce energy consumption and minimize the environmental impact.
• Health and well-being-focused design: Consider the health and well-being of patients, staff and visitors by incorporating elements such as natural light, healthy indoor air quality, and access to outdoor spaces in the design.
• Sustainable materials: Prioritize the use of sustainable materials, such as low-emitting products, recycled materials where possible, and renewable materials, to reduce the environmental impact of the building.

By incorporating these practices, we as a medical construction company, can ensure the design and construction of environmentally responsible health-focused and sustainable hospital rooms.

What should hospitals consider before starting a construction project?

Ioannidis: Apart from the typical requirements, like financing and a feasibility study for the new construction, I would indicate some crucial issues that require attention:

• The design should be user- and patient- friendly and take into consideration the flows in order to facilitate the hospital’s functionality.
• The design must ensure health and safety for the personnel and specification to prevent cross contamination and hospital diseases outspread.
• Furthermore, the designer should implement sustainable strategies in both construction and operation of the facility.
• Finally, state-of-the-art technologies and materials, which are rapidly evolving, create modern and more functional healthcare environments.

What big trends do you see in the future of hospital construction?

Ioannidis: I would focus on the Operating theatre and ICU construction which is our main scope in the projects we undertake. The trend in the last years have been modular solutions, or Modular Operating Theatre (MOT). MOT is a high-end construction practice which ensures safety, hygiene, hardware durability and high aesthetics. The MOT has passed into the new era and developed into Hybrid and Digital MOTs. These new trends come in order to follow the technological development of the operating medical equipment and give to the surgeons and rest of the staff a wide range of new capabilities during the operation.

Those could be CT or MRI imaging abilities, video image integration and routing systems with numerous features as streaming, storing and data logging, plus sophisticated, hightech software solutions.