St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim is determined to make patient care their main priority. This is achieved through creating a Patient Care Centre in which each building forms part of the total organisational unit. The centre comprises wards, an out-patient unit, operating rooms and associated relief functions. This approach helps to ensure that patients have the benefit of a coherent process whereby they can remain in the same building for the entire duration of their hospitalisation.

Peace and quiet

The Patient Centre has single rooms only, which provide a feeling of peace and quiet and the advantage of privacy. Examinations and treatments can be given in the patient's room and any personnel in attendance can work as a team. With such personalised treatment patients gain a better overview of the entire hospitalisation process.

Decentralised operations

This solution enables the hospital to increase or decrease the number of staff, depending on the number of patients hospitalised at the centre. The hospital can decentralise and rationalise its operations and improve the treatment process for patients and their relatives without incurring significant extra costs.

COWI’s solution

COWI AS Norway is planning both the conversion of the hospital plus a 190,000 m2 annex housing a centre for neuro-therapy, a patient hotel and laboratory facilities. COWI is also providing consultancy services on electronic solutions, plumbing, fire protection, acoustics, indoor climate control as well as administration, O&M and development.

The building is expected to be completed in 2015 and work will progress whilst the hospital is in operation. COWI AS Norway is therefore working closely with the client, Helsebygg Midt-Norge, plus employees and customers of St Olavs Hospital. Flexibility is a key quality, since medico technology – i.e. diagnostics, treatment and research – is evolving faster than the speed at which a hospital can be built.

Flexible building

"Three years after having designed for the addition of three huge medical machines, they will have been superseded by a single, much smaller unit. And there will be a plethora of other things that we have to be able to analyse with new equipment. So our buildings have to be flexible enough to be able to keep up with such changes – both in the design and construction phases," explains Project Manager Alvin Wehn.
 
By Jette Westerdahl
Published: 27.06.2005