The HUS Bridge Hospital Doesn’t Look Like a Hospital, Say Users – Which is a Good Thing
We asked the staff members working at Meilahti’s new Bridge Hospital how they have settled in the new facilities.
Anna Lehtonen,
Saara Haapasaari, Deputy Nurse Managers, HUS Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Outpatient Unit and Medical Treatment Unit
What has been the biggest change in working in the new Bridge Hospital and Cancer Centre?
Lehtonen: We used to operate in several different buildings, now we are all under one roof. In the back office model, the patient stays in the same room throughout the visit, and the staff moves. We are also learning how to use multifunctional spaces and quiet spaces.Planning the use of rooms is important since we don’t always work in the same rooms.
Haapasaari: The new facilities have brought a positive feeling. We have been able to concretely implement the operating model that we planned before the move.
What is the best thing about the new hospital building?
Lehtonen: The premises are beautiful and bright. The art is impressive. It is good that there are also more meeting and lecture rooms than before, they are needed more and more these days.
Haapasaari: The colour scheme is harmonious and many like it. Some patients have said that the building doesn’t feel like a hospital. The auditorium stairs have a relaxed, modern and progressive atmosphere. Both the patients and the staff use the space.
What would you do better if you could go back in time?
Lehtonen: I like the spaciousness and brightness, but the common spaces could also have been tweaked a bit to have more office space. Due to the back office model, the patients get sometimes confused in the waiting area, when there is no staff to be seen.
Haapasaari: Maybe it would have helped if the reception desk was right in front of the lifts. On the other hand, the patient flows have been carefully thought out, and no place gets congested. ↙