Skåne University Hospital Campus – Healthcare Buildings

The planning is based on four principles*

Weighing all decisions against their effect on patient care, the planning is based on these four principles:

1. Patient safety: This is the most important aspect when constructing the new building. For example, the placement of a bed or a door can affect the overview of a room, or the possibility for the patient to connect with the staff.
2. Flows: The patient’s healthcare journey is to be made as smooth as possible. It is also important to separate the public and non-public flows in the building.
3. Knowledge and development: The new hospital building will make it easier for healthcare, education and research to collaborate. There will be plenty of areas where staff can interact and exchange experiences.
4. Sustainability: The construction of the new hospital building is done as flexible as possible, so that the premises can be adapted whenever needed. The purpose is also to make sure that the impact on the environment is as small as possible.

Developing the hospital together*

The project has two different processes: The construction process and the operational process (the latter co-ordinates requirements from healthcare professionals). These two processes run in parallel, which means that healthcare professionals, builders and architects work closely together. This set-up creates an understanding of the different needs of each function.

Employees and patients are involved in the planning: Approximately 200 nurses, physicians and other staff members at Skåne University Hospital have taken part in the planning, together with architects and staff working with medical technology, cleaning, deliveries and other services. Patients have taken an active part already from the start of the planning process. The patients are connected to different patient organisations and each have their own, unique experience of being a patient at a hospital. Patients receiving in-patient care have provided valuable input.

Using virtual reality as a tool: Once the healthcare professionals have specified their needs, the builders and architects create a drawing based on these needs. To see how it would work in reality, staff can have a walk-through of the drawings in a virtual reality (VR) environment.

Getting it right from the start: Another step towards constructing a new hospital building is the so-called test rooms. These test rooms are built-up simple versions of a few of the rooms that will be part of the new building. In the test rooms, medical staff can try out their working methods and suggest improvements.The test-rooms are important to make sure that the hospital building is constructed right from the start.

Only single patient rooms: Providing more privacy and reducing risk of spreading infections, the new hospital building will only consist of single patient rooms. This means that family members can come to visit whenever they want and stay the night in an extra bed. Besides single rooms, the building will include sitting areas, exercise rooms and rooms for tranquillity.

A service building for all logistics and services: All logistics and auxiliary services will be gathered in a new service building. Here, all deliveries of supplies, pharmaceuticals, laundry, waste and more will be taken care of. Supplies are automatically ordered and unpacked by service personnel. Robotic trucks can deliver supplies to departments and wards around the clock. Since most of the transports take place in culverts, the transports above ground are kept to a minimum.The service building will also include a state-of-the-art laboratory that analyses samples around the clock. The laboratory is connected to the hospital departments and wards via a modern pneumatic tube system. There will also be new digital systems that enable automatic pharmaceutical orders.

*Texts – Skåne University Hospital.

Healing green environments

Access to and visual contact with green spaces significantly enhances patient recovery. The hospital’s design process was notably influenced by its unique green environment, featuring nearly 80 species and over 700 trees on site. Recognizing the healing and positive effects of greenery on individuals, several facades of the hospital buildings incorporate vertical and horizontal green elements.

A new landmark for the city

The healthcare buildings form the heart of the hospital campus. With up to ten storeys, they will be over fifty metres high. At ground level, in the urban and street space, the design is archetypal in its expression. The lower parts of the buildings have ceramic and slate facades. Combined with glass sections, these create welcoming and transparent entrances to NSM, making it easier for patients, relatives and staff to find their way around.

Behind the ceramic and slate facades, medical operations and high-tech patient care take place. The design of the façade varies depending on where the patient wards are located. On floors dedicated to patient recovery and recovery, the façade transitions to glass and aluminium, enhancing the architectural lightness and creating an airy atmosphere. This thoughtful design not only meets functional needs, but also contributes to the overall aesthetic and ambience of NSM’s healthcare buildings.

Focus on people and sustainability

The hospital area in Malmö is being developed as an integral part of the city, which is an important part of reducing structural health inequalities in the population. As a place of work and a central public space with which everyone in the area will come into contact sooner or later, the hospital should be welcoming to everyone, regardless of their background. From a wider societal perspective, hospital buildings also need to be environmentally and resource friendly and designed to be accessible to all.

All construction activities have an impact on the climate, and this is particularly true for large hospital projects, which often involve significant investments based on general requirements for future care. The choice between building a new hospital or extending an existing one has a potentially large impact on both sustainability and economics.

In Malmö, Region Skåne has decided to continue to expand the centrally located hospital and to develop it in stages over a longer period of time. Resources are optimised by retaining buildings that have not yet reached their maximum lifespan and expanding with a focus on quality of care and economy. Older, outdated hospital buildings are given new functions, such as administration. An infill project on an existing hospital site, while challenging, offers significant social, environmental and economic sustainability benefits compared to building a brand new hospital on a peripheral site. At the community level, sustainable mobility solutions are promoted through good access to public transport and cycle routes.

New Hospital Malmö NSM aims to achieve Miljöbyggnad Silver certification. The requirements for Miljöbyggnad Gold have been applied in terms of energy.