How to Design an Emergency Room

According to “Emergency Department Design” by Idrees Iwaidat of Al-Ahli Hospital, many things must be considered when designing an emergency room, including beds, resources, staff, services, and the design of the rooms. The design should be based on the population that will be in the emergency room and the needs that they have. There must be an adequate amount of space to safely move around in emergency situations.

Instructions

• 1

  Place the waiting room, the triage room and the doctors/nurses offices in the same area. That way, when people walk into the emergency room, the nurses can take them straight to the triage room to evaluate their vitals, such as blood pressure and body temperature. Their loved ones can be out in the waiting room filling out forms that they received from the front desk.

• 2

  Design the area so that the examination rooms are located directly next to the laboratory and the X-ray rooms. When a patient is weak and needs to have an X-ray taken or blood drawn, he shouldn’t have to walk very far to get to his destination. Also, this will prevent the nurses from having to walk too far when pushing a patient in his bed.

• 3

  Position the area where the ambulances arrive next to the trauma and examination rooms. That way, when patients arrive via ambulance and need immediate care, they are right where they need to be. The doctors have instant contact with the patient and can give him the necessary treatment.

• 4

  Situate all the equipment and waste rooms in one area so that when doctors and nurses need to obtain or get rid of something quickly, they know exactly where to go. This works out well especially when they deplete an item and need to get more. They can go to this area to drop off a soiled item and pick up a new one.

• 5

  Put all of the equipment that is inside the patient rooms right next to the bed, especially items such as the IV. This allows the IV to be hooked to the patient so that she can receive the necessary medication. Place chairs inside of the rooms so that family members can sit with their loved one. Situate the TV in an area where the patient and her family members can see it.