PSC Building Form

12.2.1 One of the key principles adopted for the PSC relates to the form of the new hospital. Each of the blocks will be of a standard, relatively narrow footprint which will be maintained from ground level up to the top-most floor. This will permit good access to natural light and ventilation, where required, to a substantial area of the hospital, thereby improving the quality of the internal environment and reducing the reliance on mechanical and electrical services.

12.2.2 The blocks will be arranged on either side of a single hospital street, running East to West through the core of the building, parallel to West Derby Street, which will provide a clear circulation spine, comprehensible to patients and visitors and along which vertical access cores comprising lifts and stairs will be located. This arrangement also complies with current fire evacuation legislation and improves the management and security of access to clinical areas.

12.2.3 The use of blocks of a standard block footprint, sized to accommodate a range of functions, will permit relatively straightforward change of use without the requirement for structural change or extension. The configuration of the blocks will also be utilised for future expansion, following the pattern established in the overall site masterplan which extends the hospital in a Westerly direction.

12.2.4 The design of the hospital also recognises that a number of more specialised departments, including the emergency department, radiology, operating theatres, and laboratories are more suited to deeper plan accommodation. These have therefore been grouped together in a deeper block, located in the North East corner of the development, close to the proposed new Hall Lane. In addition, the sealed nature of the accommodation will make it more suitable to act as an acoustic buffer for the hospital.

Figure 45 – PSC Site Analysis

12.3 Key Adjacencies

12.3.1 The Matrix of Adjacencies is set out in Appendix G1. This identifies the required relationships between departments and categorises them as Essential, Important, Desirable and Undesirable with those areas requiring Good Access also identified. It should be noted that as part of the user group process it was agreed that close vertical relationships between departments may be preferable to distant horizontal relationships and that this principle has been employed throughout the development of the PSC to optimise departmental locations.

12.3.2 Figure 46 below graphically details the adjacencies achieved in the PSC. 12.3.3 Appendix F1 includes 1:500 floor by floor plans for the PSC.

Figure 46 – Stacking Diagram Detailing Departmental Adjacencies

12.4 Flows

12.4.1 The principle underpinning the organisation of the PSC has been to separate flows wherever possible to ensure efficient circulation and to minimise potential conflict between FM services and other users of the building. This has been achieved by the incorporation of five distinct vertical movement cores each incorporating separate bed, clean and dirty FM and passenger lifts.

12.4.2 The main service areas are located on the lower ground floor with direct access to the covered external vehicular service yard. These areas include the main kitchen, materials management store, pharmacy and clinical engineering departments. Access to the upper levels is by way of the appropriate FM lifts with very limited horizontal movement required within the publicly accessible areas. Although there is a main entrance point to the hospital at this lower ground level, there is no access for patients or visitors into the accommodation at this level. The detailed arrangements for the provision of FM are contained in Chapter 8.

12.4.3 The majority of the out-patient accommodation is located at ground and first floor with access via the main hospital street which links directly with the main entrance area. Emergency access via the emergency department is located on the North side of the building at first floor level with internal access for those patients requiring either surgery or admission to critical care or Wards facilitated by the dedicated emergency lifts contained within the area, identified as ‘Hub 5’, see Figure 46 above.

12.4.4 Access for visitors to wards will take place via main vertical circulation cores and will be controlled by means of an intelligent access control system. This system will also ensure that unauthorised individuals are unable to gain access to sensitive clinical areas whilst permitting entry for staff.

12.4.5 The use of a single clear horizontal circulation spine, served by five vertical circulation cores and directly linked to the main entrance will enhance way-finding within the new hospital and this will be reinforced by the views out of the hospital street that will be available at all levels permitting orientation and comprehension of the plan arrangement.

12.5

Patient Experience

12.5.1 The Trust’s vision for the new hospital incorporates a key focus on patient centred care and the creation of a healing environment, as crucial elements in the delivery of world class services. The following areas are those considered to influence and contribute to a positive patient experience:

Healing Environment

 Good access to natural light and views out onto good quality landscaping achieved through the use of relatively narrow blocks interspersed with well landscaped courtyards

 Intuitive way-finding as a natural consequence of a simple and clear circulation strategy with prominent entrances and clearly identified vertical circulation points  Attractive internal environment provided by an integrated, well detailed and

durable palette of finishes that contribute to well being

 100% single bedrooms ensuring a safer and quieter environment for patients, visitors & staff

 Integration of art into the overall interior design concept.

Privacy & Dignity

 100% single rooms provided throughout the new hospital generic wards ensuring successful and flexible gender separation

 All patient bedrooms are provided with en-suite shower/WCs that have been planned in detail to ensure accessibility and flexibility in use

 Privacy of ‘undressed’ areas/routes through provision of separate waiting areas and discrete routes within departments.

Safety & Security

 Safe and secure entrances protected where appropriate by access control systems

 Internal planning that avoids the creation of isolated or unobserved areas

 Comfortable waiting areas with access to natural light and observed by appropriately located staff bases

 Use of appropriately specified, robust and well detailed equipment and materials to ensure delivery of the Trust’s Infection Control Policy.

12.5.2 The Trust has followed the guidance issued by the DH in relation to the Consumerism agenda. The Trust’s statement of compliance against this guidance is set out in Appendix G2.

12.6 Flexibility

12.6.1 The requirement for clinical flexibility in hospital planning is an essential requirement in order to accommodate inevitable change and expansion in therapeutic, technological and organisational practices. The lack of such flexibility is one of the significant shortcomings of the current building.

12.6.2 The pace and scale of change in healthcare practice is accelerating and it is likely that revisions will be necessary during the design, construction and throughout the life of the new hospital. In order to maximise the potential to accommodate a wide range of reconfiguration pressures, the following key features have been incorporated into the Public Sector Comparator:

 Use of generic room types: specifically in wards & clinics, sanitary accommodation etc, to give standard room arrangements capable of accommodating a wide range of functions without significant change. These rooms have been studied in detail with user representatives in order to develop a robust set of room types that will fulfil these requirements

 Location of ‘soft’ space: in the form of administration and staff changing accommodation in specific areas where internal expansion and reconfiguration are anticipated. These departments include diagnostic radiology, critical care and operating theatres

 Use of non-load-bearing internal partitioning: with a rationalised and efficient structural frame incorporating a flat soffit to permit straightforward relocation of divisions between spaces, the ability to extend and alter is maximised

 Adoption of a number of generic departments: including outpatient clinic modules and in-patient wards. This approach will permit more intensive use of spaces as departments will readily accommodate changes in function without the need for reorganisation or re-planning

 Identification of specific areas for external expansion: The two areas, located on the North side of the building immediately adjacent to the emergency department and operating theatres and on the West end of the building adjacent to the end of the hospital street, have been identified for potential future expansion allowing the possibility of additional accommodation for emergency services, out-patients and wards.