Colloquia

Summary

The Neonate Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is the place where babies go when they are very ill or delivered preterm. The hospital is adding an extra wing to facilitate better care at the NICU. A redesign of the NICU for the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital will optimise the work processes in a single-room setup. In-depth field research has focused on stakeholder analysis, work processes and unit utilisation. The fast-paced design process ensured quick design changes combined in two iterations and the final design. Co-design sessions have been performed to improve stakeholder engagement and design usability. The final design has been validated through scenario re-enactment. The NICU unit design is divided into a hospital and a parental section. The hospital section has one wall with all appliances. All materials and medication are primarily focused on the left side of the incubator from where the nurses and doctors will work. The parents have a sleeping couch where they can work, relax, or stay during the night. LEDs are used to ensure long usability and the correct lux of the lights to differentiate between the parental and hospital area. The contact between the parents and the hospital has been improved by altering the existing patient portal. A medical diary, the option to plan a visit and expand the provided information, has been added. More scenario re-enactments are needed, and the LED requirements need to be reconsidered To conclude, the new design solves all problems found within the current open-bay setting and the new single-room setup. The optimal NICU design can help the caretakers take care and help the parents be parents to ensure the best care for the neonate.