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A first-hand account of how to build a medical facility in days

Huoshenshan Hospital

In the midst of China’s effort to combat any further spread of COVID-19, a new record was set in Wuhan.

This feat was the construction of a medical facility in just 10 days.

This may not sound like much — until we highlight the specifications of the structure.

For starters, the Huoshenshan Medical facility is a two-story building that covers approximately 366,000 square feet. This medical facility will be able to house 1,000 to 1,500 quarantined patients.

Learning how to build these type of medical facilities in days, will prove vital to the UK government in its fight to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and the building pressure to do so.

The entire medical facility was constructed in an incredibly fast 10 days.

This is entirely thanks to the thousands of workers who worked tirelessly to complete the state-of-the-art medical facility’s construction through the day and night. This feat was only made possible because the structure was designed using pre-fabricated modular materials.

It is certain that the construction of any building of such a calibre would have been impossible to achieve within 10 days by means of traditional building methods and materials.

The Xiaotangshan Medical facility

This medical facility was not the first to be built in China in a such a short timeframe. The Xiaotangshan Medical facility was also finished in 7 days during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

An anonymous source indicated that the architectural plans for both medical facilities were completely different. The only thing the medical facilities may have had in common is that they were both constructed using pre-fabricated modular materials. The source indicated that one of the reasons both designs are so different is the design conditions in Wuhan. Visit Smart-space to learn more about modular facilities. Another option to look at is Mediworld Ltd.

Below is a first-hand account on how you can build a medical facility in days from someone who has done it before:

  • CONSTRUCTING ISOLATED SYSTEMS:

  • The Ebola epidemic in 2014

    An emergency physician that was privileged to coordinate emergency medical facilities construction in West Africa during the Ebola epidemic in 2014 had a few things to share.

  • While he only able to construct 100 to 200 bed field medical facilities because of the limited funds at his disposal at that time, he indicated that the design philosophies for constructing outstanding hospitals would be similar. Furthermore, he stated that patient “zoning” in relation to risk levels is the key factor in this process.

  • People awaiting COVID-19 test results should be in a different zone from people that are confirmed to be infected. He recommended that only infected people should be admitted.

  • FLOW MANAGEMENT:

  • One of the things highlighted in the discussion with the emergency physician is the need to control movements within any medical facility.

  • This will minimize the risk of cross infections due to close contact.

  • However, it is almost impossible to completely cut off patients’ movement because of the need to use the toilets. He suggested that the plan should allow a two channel and three zone philosophy. This implies constructing an clear distinction between infected and semi-infected regions in the medical facility. It also includes constructing two different channels for patients and medical staff movements.

  • He recommended that the space between facilities, corridors, and patients should be considered in the plan.

  • PLANNING SPECIALIST FUNCTIONS:

  • When designing a medical facility that can be constructed in days, you must consider several logistical functions. These functions range from patient transfers, to storage, to ventilation.

  • Other functions to consider in the plan include a network computer room, the medical technology building, sanitation, and water systems. He stated that constructing an all-inclusive system in medical facilities is crucial to avoid exposing neighbors to infections.

In conclusion, modular technologies make constructing a medical facility in a matter of days possible.

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