Meeting OECD healthcare standards

Countries in the GCC are increasing investments in healthcare facilities, but still fall short of OECD bed capacity benchmarks. Lorraine Bangera examines the upcoming trends in the sector and the growing importance of having a healthy built environment

The built environment plays a major role in determining the health of an individual. Healthcare facilities are particularly under the spotlight when it comes to providing an ideal environment for individuals.

Carl McKenzie, healthcare director of AECOM, says that the built environment for a healthcare facility relates to creating an internal environment that maximises wellbeing and enhances the quality of life.
He says: “We should note that the built environment for a healthcare facility is viewed by two different users, patients and healthcare staff. However a lot of work has been done in recent years related to evidence base reflection and patient wellbeing or recovery.”

“Healthcare facilities are not immune to safety and security issues,” argues Waseem Taqqali, vice president of Buildings at Schneider Electric. He explains how adequate measures must be put in place to not only ensure highest levels of security, but also comfort and convenience at the touch of a button.

Taqqali says that healthcare facilities find it challenging to deliver quality patient care through state-of-the-art safety and security measures without increasing usage of financial or energy resources. He says that hospitals are energy intensive buildings which are becoming more expensive to maintain as energy costs are on the rise, not to mention other costs like security protocols, human resources and regular maintenance.

He adds: “Hospitals today have an added investment of IT as everything is connected by the cloud, and data storage has gone digital.”

Taqqali says that smart systems are thus far better as they work constantly to mitigate the risks of accidents or system downtime.

McKenzie says that each healthcare facility will require the development of a supportive health system infrastructure. He says that a key trend has been the adoption of technologies to streamline healthcare systems. Such technologies include the adoption eVisits, digitalisation and electronic management of patient records.

Taqqali says that Schneider Electric’s Building Management solutions (BMS) provide facility-wide transparency and monitoring options, including access to critical data to assist hospital staff in providing security and safety. “It also reduces long-term costs and operational expenditures which result from maintenance, equipment upgrades or failure of security measures.”

He adds: “BMS also helps to reduce energy costs by providing a clear picture of energy consumption and managing its usage across the facility through a host of smart solutions.”

Rise of healthcare facilities in GCC

As the population in the GCC rises, so does the need for quality healthcare. Faizal Kottikollon, chairperson and founder of KEF Holdings, says that GCC countries have seen a rise in cases of diabetes, obesity and other healthcare issues.

McKenzie says that the rising demand of healthcare services will push governments across the GCC to implement new technologies, systems of care, and consider further partnerships with international healthcare providers.

“The GCC healthcare services market, along with the medical tourism market, is anticipated to reach $69bn by 2020,” says Kottikollon.

As healthcare and medical tourism in the region increases, he says that the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is planning to build 22 hospitals and aims to attract 500,000 medical tourists by 2020. Among the GCC, Kottikollon says that UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia are particularly making “hefty investments” in healthcare facilities.

He talks about modular construction as a key solution to meet the growing needs of the region. He explains that as the population rapidly increases along with life expectancy- the governments and private sectors are posed with the challenge to deliver superior quality facilities without being impacted by costs and time of construction.

He says: “They cannot afford any business downtime. Modular constructions are a tremendous advantage here. With its smart and sustainable construction, it will mitigate risks and will also aid lesser populated areas in remote areas and doctors with efficiency and timely response.”

He says modular construction is becoming synonymous with convenience and efficiency. “By using a modular, systematic approach to upgrade healthcare infrastructure, the region can battle common issues surrounding MEP connections, unhygienic sanitation facilities, outdated plumbing structures, and weather-sensitive construction material – to name a few.”

The KEF-TAHPI partnership combines TAHPI’s expertise of soft modular design with KEF’s expertise in hard modular construction. By applying this model, hospital and clinic components can be carefully designed in the studio and then manufactured on a large scale in a facility dedicated to modular construction, such as the $350m facility at KEF’s 42 acre industrial Park in Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, India.

Kottikollon says that this facility will soon be complemented by a robotics driven modular manufacturing facility unit in Jebel Ali, Dubai. Taking shape at an investment of $100m, the production unit in Jebel Ali is scheduled for completion in first quarter of 2016.

According to McKenzie, to encourage medical tourism, the UAE (specifically Dubai) has sought to bring in talented people and hospitals or clinics from around the globe that can provide specialised healthcare options. “We will see more established international healthcare provider’s developing facilities and operating in the region.”

He says that the current state of healthcare infrastructure varies across the Middle East and has been steadily improving. However, it still lags behind Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) countries in terms of health professional workers and bed capacity per capita. “Overall, Gulf States spend on average 3% on healthcare, compared to 11% in OECD countries.”

Taqqali says that currently the region is embarking on healthcare infrastructure building programmes. “For instance, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry for Health is executing five projects worth $500m toward building medical cities. Such investment will raise the supply and quality of healthcare infrastructure solutions and services in this region.

“Last year, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) also spearheaded talks on integrated infrastructure and storage solutions in the healthcare sector as part of the ‘Dubai Smart Healthcare Model.'”

Taqqali points out that according to a 2014 Alpen Capital report on the GCC healthcare sector, GCC countries rely on their governments for healthcare investments. He says: “The governments share in GCC healthcare spending is approximately 73%. Meanwhile, public health authorities in the region are committed to saving energy and controlling costs.”

He adds: “The report also states that high oil prices have played an important role in the government‘s ability to fund healthcare spend.”

McKenzie observes that though investment in GCC healthcare infrastructure has risen considerably in recent years, the pace of development is still behind the needs of a rapidly growing population and healthcare standards in other developed economies. He says that Gulf States, such as the UAE, have a relatively young population, however sedentary lifestyles have led to disproportionately higher health issues compared to the rest of the world, therefore the demand on the health systems continues on an upward trend.

He states: “One of the targets for the UAE will be to double its existing bed capacity of circa 13,500 hospital beds over the next few years. These ambitions indicate the potential for growth, where overall healthcare spending in the UAE is expected to increase 7% a year to reach $19.6bn by 2018, compared to its current level of $14bn.”