It’s time for the mandatory use of simulation and human factors in hospital design

Abstract

Building a new healthcare facility is complex and poses challenges in delivering a facility that is fit for purpose and designed to minimise latent environmental and process errors. This article summarises what the disciplines of Human Factors/Ergonomics and Simulation can offer to the design and testing of new hospital builds. It argues the incorporation of both disciplines throughout the planning, design, commissioning and operations phases of the building project can minimise latent safety risks to promote patient safety and staff well-being across the building lifecycle. Future directions and policies should include incorporation of human factors design and mandatory process testing before opening.

Translational simulation revisited: an evolving conceptual model for the contribution of simulation to healthcare quality and safety

“…Testing the adequacy of physical infrastructure using simulation is not a new concept, but has been surprisingly underutilised in the design and building of healthcare facilities [ 47 , 65 ]. Guidance has been offered on optimal simulation design for practitioners seeking to test physical infrastructure.…”

“…Kaba et al offer lessons learned from using process-orientated simulations to test the opening of a new 300-bed healthcare facility [ 71 ]. Although offering diverse methodological approaches, these conversations shared a common stance—that the incorporation of simulation and human factors into hospital design is essential [ 65 ].…”

Simulation as an Improvement Technique

“…26 This may be manifest in disconnected terminology and in organisational structures and professional groups. With some notable exceptions, 71 healthcare management journals tend not to cover simulationbased healthcare improvement. Within organisations, simulation programmes may be situated in educational structures and staffed by educational experts, while healthcare improvement teams may use tools and language unfamiliar to simulation delivery teams or clinicians.…”

Faculty development for translational simulation: a qualitative study of current practice

“…Translational simulation practice may require a different strategic [ 11 , 34 ] and operational [ 1 ] approach to educationally focused simulations. With limited published guidance to draw upon, we find diverse methods and tools—from quality improvement [ 35 – 37 ], safety science [ 9 , 38 ], human factors/ergonomics [ 39 , 40 ], design thinking [ 17 ], change management [ 2 , 10 ], implementation science [ 41 ] and systems engineering [ 42 ]—have been used in translational simulation activities [ 1 , 40 ]. These are often unfamiliar perspectives and skillsets for simulation practitioners.…”