A new hospital campus for modern care

The Skåne University Hospital campus in Malmö is undergoing modernisation to provide patients with highly specialised care now and in the future. The campus will include a new hospital building with a total of 244 single rooms, wards, 23 modern operating rooms, and a sterile processing unit with robotics. In 2024, the first department will move in.

The project not only involves the construction of a new hospital building but also includes a new service building and logistics centre with a 24-hour open laboratory. Additionally, the project includes a new mortuary, an expanded pneumatic tube system, technical infrastructure, and culverts with robotic trucks.

In other words, significant parts of today's hospital campus in Malmö are being modernised. This is a necessary step since the campus has grown organically, one building at a time, and many of the buildings are now outdated and located far apart.

Rebuilding the existing buildings to meet modern demands for highly specialised care is neither possible nor economically justifiable. With the new hospital building, the campus will consist of facilities focused on providing the best possible patient care.

The new hospital campus will include:

10 wards with 244 single rooms, with 22 of them adapted for intermediate care
23 operating rooms with 12 preparation rooms and 46 post-operative beds
Intensive care unit with 14 beds for adults and children
Arrival department for elective surgery
Centrally located sterile technology unit for cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilising medical instruments
Day care clinic
Administrative facilities
Public facilities such as pharmacy, kiosk, café, etc.
Changing room and bicycle garage

Skåne University Hospital in Malmö is undergoing modernisation. Photo: Pierre Ekman

Only single patient rooms

To provide more privacy and reduce the risk of spreading infections, the new hospital building will exclusively consist of single patient rooms. This means that family members can visit whenever they want and stay overnight. Additionally, the building will include sitting areas, exercise rooms, and rooms for tranquillity.

A service building for all logistics and services

All logistics and auxiliary services are centralised in a new service building. This facility handles deliveries of supplies, pharmaceuticals, laundry, waste, and more. Supplies are automatically ordered and unpacked by service personnel, and robotic trucks deliver supplies to departments and wards around the clock. Transports above ground are minimised as most transportation will take place in culverts.

The service building also house a state-of-the-art laboratory that operates 24/7 and is connected to the hospital departments and wards via a modern pneumatic tube system. New digital systems enables automatic pharmaceutical orders.

The construction planning was based on four principles

When planning the construction of the new campus, all decisions were evaluated based on their impact on patient care. The planning process was guided by four principles:

Patient safety: Ensuring patient safety was the highest priority when designing the new building. The placement of beds and doors, for example, can influence the overview of the overview of the room and the patient's connection with the staff.
Flows: Creating smooth healthcare journeys for patients was another important aspect of the planning process. It was crucial to separate public and non-public flows within the building.Knowledge and development: The new hospital building will facilitate collaboration between healthcare, education, and research. There will be ample areas for staff to interact and exchange experiences.
Sustainability: The construction of the new hospital building has been done with flexibility in mind to allow for future adaptations. Minimizing the impact on the environment was also a priority.

Developing the hospital together

The planning process consisted of two parallel processes: the construction process and the operational process, which coordinated the requirements from healthcare professionals. Close collaboration between healthcare professionals, builders, and architects ensured an understanding of the different needs of each function.

Employees and patients were involved in the planning

Approximately 200 nurses, physicians, and other staff members at Skåne University Hospital actively participated in the planning process, alongside architects and staff working with medical technology, cleaning, deliveries, and other services. Patients were also involved from the start, with connections to different patient organizations, providing valuable input based on their unique experiences as hospital patients.

Virtual reality as a tool

Once the healthcare professionals specified their needs, builders and architects created drawings based on those requirements. Staff members had the opportunity to walk through these drawings in a virtual reality (VR) environment to visualise how the spaces would work.

Getting it right from the start

To ensure the hospital building was constructed correctly, test rooms were then set up. These test rooms were simplified versions of a few of the rooms that will be part of the new building. Medical staff could try out their working methods in these test rooms and provide feedback for improvements.

Mock-up rooms were built so that clinical staff could try them out and provide feedback. Photo: Pierre Ekman

Additionally, mock-up rooms played a key role in ensuring the accuracy of the construction. These full-scale rooms were fully constructed at the eventual location where the real rooms would be. Clinical staff could test the functionality of these mock-up rooms and provide feedback during the ongoing construction process.

Last updated: 2024-07-05