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The pros and cons of single patient rooms examined

Three senior personnel at public service consultants, The PSC, discuss the NHP’s announcement that all new English hospitals must be 100% single room.

Three senior personnel at London-headquartered public service consultants, The PSC, Smriti Singh, David Chappell, and Sesha Nicholson-Lailey, discuss the implications of the New Hospital Programme (NHP)’s announcement that all new hospitals in England must include 100% single patient rooms. They explore such rooms’ history, their potential benefits and challenges, and the importance of involving clinicians in the planning stage, and discuss developing new ways of working, and leveraging digital solutions, ‘to fully realise single patient rooms’ benefits, and mitigate their challenges’.

The case for and against the mass adoption of single patient rooms has long been discussed in healthcare. Despite this debate, the shift to single patient rooms has long been on the NHS’s agenda,1 and on the agenda of the Conservative Party, for over a decade.2 In spite of the political position, Trusts in England have, until now, been allowed to decide the number of single patient rooms in new-builds. As a result, uptake has varied, and while other parts of the UK have opened a number of hospitals with all single patient rooms,3 England currently only has two. The first hospital in England to provide only single patient rooms, in Tunbridge Wells, and the second, the Royal Liverpool Hospital, opened their doors in 2011,4 and October 2022, respectively.5,6

Threat from airborne infection

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Upcoming Events

The Fire Safety Event 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
30th April - 2 May 2024

Wales regional conference, exhibition and awards dinner 2024

International Conference Centre (ICC) Newport
28th - 29th May 2024

NAHFO National Conference 2024

Crowne Plaza Newcastle Upon Tyne
3rd - 5th June 2024

Design in Mental Health 2024

Manchester Central
4th - 5th June 2024

InstallerSHOW 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
25th - 27th June

Healthcare Estates 2024

Manchester Central
8th-9th October 2024

Access the latest issue of Health Estate Journal on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Health Estate Journal app from your device's App store

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