Medical Architecture : IIA Forming Standardised Guidelines

Just when experts are propagating the importance of accreditation and standardisation of healthcare institutes, the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) has mooted the proposal of forming standardised guidelines in medical architecture. The IIA, supported by the Council of Architects, is in the process of forming a core group to devise the spatial norms and standards for hospital design, architecture and construction of healthcare facilities.

The standardisation aims to come up with an activity data sheet, informed Dr R Chandrashekhar, senior architect, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health, speaking on the sidelines of two-day international conference on medical architecture in New Delhi. "The Western system like NHS has such standards. The IIA guidelines will be a step ahead of NHS with inclusion of both spatial norms and standards," he added.

The guidelines will be based on surveys conducted by various colleges about medical facilities available in their vicinity. The core group, which will monitor the survey, will consist of  health facility planners, architects, engineers, doctors, nursing staff, users, corporate players and academicians. The formation of the core group will take about two months.

The first draft of guidelines, to be ready in six-eight months, will be first presented to the ministry of health for any amendment. Then it will be dove-tailed with the hospital accreditation system prepared by the ministry.

Welcoming the initiative, Dr R L Ischhpujani, deputy director general, DGHS, asked the IIA to come up with similar norms for community health centres so that they could be incorporated in the accreditation system under the rural health mission.

Abhijit Ray, chairperson, IIA said though there is shortage of architects in hospital planning, the pool of available resources could be utilised for making the guidelines. According to Dr Sameer A Khan, manager, medical planning Fortis, "Development of these guidelines should be based on local socio-cultural environment, affordability, disease profile, etc. Its objective should be achieving of a balance between ideal and optimum."

Architect Meena Kumari, from School of Architecture and Planning, Chennai averred that guidelines have been long overdue, apart from need to have some legislation or codes to come out with therapeutic environment and converting health buildings to healing buildings."The move will help creating a better healthcare network in rural areas," said architect Balbir Verma, president, IIA and called upon the architects to join hands with other professionals in this venture.

(Ref : "Express Pharma Pulse" dated April 14, 2005)