Infusing Ambience in Healthcare

The word ambience has been synonymous with the experience in restaurants and cafes, a brand new restaurant in town serving "not-so-great" food can average out the experience of its guest with its pleasing earthy interiors, choice of luminaries, tempo/volume/choice of music or even the smile of the host/hostess on arrival ! The average human mind is trained to consume the visuals, followed by the palate.

When it comes to critical healthcare, the magic potion boils down to the following :

·      Quality of Care

·      Quality of the Caregiver

·      The Ambience

More often than not – the first 2 get skewed attention and naturally so. Years of research has shown cancer patients responding very well to chemotherapy and related line of treatments in a soothing, engaging and patient friendly environment. The Champalimaud Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal is a world renowned Institute, which focuses on biomedical research and the employ the highest levels of contemporary science and medicine to help people grappling with real problems; cancer, brain damage, going blind. The architecture is contemporary style and a lot of detailing has been done in the outdoors and indoors, to build a homely environment thereby improving patient outcome. The facility is designed by none other than Charles Correa – the famous Indian architect and urban planner.

The Apollo Proton Cancer Centre in Chennai is another example of a very patient-centric setup. Starting with lush and spacious interiors akin to a 5-star hotel lobby and a Starbucks style café greets you and triggers a pleasing visual in the mind - as against familiar signages of registration, listing of doctors and treatments and the usual hustle bustle of a busy hospital. To be fair – the facility is brand new but the way it is designed – will significantly reduce the preconceived notions and anxiety of the patients. What makes me most proud about this project is that, it is NOT a mall or a fancy corporate office – it’s a healthcare facility. In our very own country, run by the frontrunners of modern healthcare infra of India – the Apollo Group !

Things to ponder upon :

1. Can the government and private sector standardize/templatize design in upcoming hospitals?
2. Can the healthcare industry and academia work together to inculcate sharper focus on ambience?
3. Can there be a task force to study and practically implement best practices drawing inspiration from global institutes. Practicality is critical – as India is a nation of 1.3 billion people, will have to work towards striking a balance between idealistic and realistic !

Thoughts?