Enhancing the Experience of Paediatric Hospitals Through Spatial Design

Paediatric services are in high demand but need more practising doctors available. In paediatric cardiology alone, they observe about 150,000 to 200,000 cases of congenital heart disease (CHD) who need medical intervention early to survive their first year after birth. Yet, the number of paediatric practitioners who graduate and are open to practice could be much higher, especially in developing countries. This validates the need to enhance the paediatric hospital experience for children, families, and staff, as hospitals are stressful environments. Through a user study, it was determined that hospitals fail to offer good experience to the users. The design methodology involves spatial analysis to provide a soothing environment to destress in limited space. The design concepts derived are then evaluated by the users and evolved through their feedback. Due to the limitations of this project, it suggests a basic proposal which could be taken further by developing the designs through testing and implementation.