Date Published:
9 November 2006 |
Old hospital wards affect patient recovery
Old, shabby NHS hospital wards are not only perceived as threatening environments,
but can actually hamper patient recovery and could be more costly, research
has found.
The study found that patients recuperating from surgery on an old hospital
ward were more stressed, needed more drugs and had slower recovery times than
those who were recuperating on a newly-refurbished ward.
Resolving the issue would not only mean that patients would be healthier,
happy and more satisfied but more money would be available to plough back into
patient care.
The findings of the research by Dr Angeli Santos and Dr Phil Leather from
the Institute of Work, Health and Organisations at The University of Nottingham,
in collaboration with Naysan Firoozmand from The Morrisby Organisation, are
due to be presented at the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology
in Dublin today (Thursday November 9).
The study evaluated two post-operative recovery rooms used by in-patients
following cardio-thoracic surgery. The effects of two different environments
were examined: a new ward and an old ward. The rooms were used for an identical
function, but differed in spatial layout, illumination and colour. The newly
refurbished room was designed specifically as a therapeutic environment, where
improvements were made to layout and choice of colour.
Participants in the study were asked to rate their environment by means of
23 environmental criteria, which identified positive and negative aspects of
their environment.
Psychophysiological measures in response to the environment were recorded,
including blood pressure and pulse rate for up to 13 days.
The levels of stress experienced by participants revealed that participants
experienced significantly more stress in the old ward than the new. On the
newer ward, post operative drug consumption records of DF 118 and Temazepam
were reduced. Participants on the old ward received 307.5 units of DF1 18,
compared to 147.4 units on the new ward and the patients on the new ward received
just 6.7 units of Tamazepam, compared to 41 units on the old ward.
The duration of the post-operative stay for participants on the old ward was
10.3 days, whereas participants on the new ward remained for 8.1 days.
The mean blood pressure of participants on the new ward was, at 91.98, significantly
lower than those on the old ward, who had a mean blood pressure of 96.48.
With Government NHS funding stretched to the limit, ward design is not high
on the list of priorities for UK hospitals. However, in the US, where private
funding is the norm, hospital design is at the forefront of patient recovery.
In a hospital setting, a therapeutic environment can be described as one that
is supportive of patients' needs, which portrays a nurturing and non-threatening
image and puts the patient at ease. The therapeutic value of hospital design
is widely-recognised — the more 'therapeutic' the environment, the quicker
the post-op recovery and a return to health, both physically and psychologically.
Dr Santos said:
“ The results demonstrate that a therapeutic environment
in a UK hospital has the capability to both speed patient recovery and cut
costs.”
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