Australian health design is committed to quality healthcare

To demonstrate a commitment to quality design and construction of health buildings, the design professional community has established the Australian Health Design Council. Inaugural chair Jane Carthey explains the council’s focus and aspirations.
Today’s Australian health design industry is sophisticated, capable and award winning. We design and build world-class health facilities ranging from rural outposts and regional hospitals through to major research and teaching hospitals for the Australian community. Committed to achieving excellence in health facility design and procurement, several members of the health design professional community established the Australian Health Design Council (AHDC) in mid-2012 as part of an ongoing commitment to the continuous improvement of the design and construction of Australian health buildings.
Members of AHDC are not interested in buildings alone. Rather, we are concerned health facilities are designed and procured in such a way that they continue to support the delivery of excellent, innovative and appropriate healthcare to all Australians wherever they live and no matter their circumstances. This reflects the broader goals of the Australian health system in terms of equity and access for all Australians to high quality healthcare.
The AHDC is a national not-for-profit professional organisation, established to meet the needs of the Australian health design community for networking and information dissemination. Its key objectives are to establish and promote a shared vision for high quality, efficient and effective health facility design that responds to the needs of the Australian population. In particular, it is committed to encouraging the further development of the Australasian Health Facility Guidelines as a peer-reviewed repository of health design knowledge, and the effective implementation of integrated project briefing and Building Information (BIM) technologies to support the efficient and sustainable delivery of health projects across Australia.
The primary focus of AHDC is the sharing of knowledge and expertise within the Australian health design community. As an Australian organisation with committee membership from several states, AHDC is run by and for Australians and most importantly to benefit the Australian health system. Run by volunteers, any profits earned from activities are ploughed back into the organisation to benefit members, their healthcare clients and the wider community.
Yet AHDC certainly doesn’t exist in splendid isolation as it also has many connections and networks with international communities of health design practice, including links to frontline researchers and research organisations around the world; internationally recognised architects and designers; and other relevant organisations. Examples of its connections include strong links to its sister organisation - the New Zealand Health Design Council (NZHDC), the European Health Property Network (EUHPN) and its offshoot the European Centre for Health Assets and Architecture (ECHAA), the Dutch research organisation TNO and health research arm – DuCHAA; Scandinavian researchers in SINTEF in Norway; and the Center for Health Design and similar organisations in the USA.
Membership of AHDC is deliberately inclusive and therefore open to any individual with a demonstrated interest or expertise in the field of health facility design. Membership enables participation in the governance of the organisation including committee membership or acting as an office bearer. Although membership is solely targeted at individuals, other relationships and partnerships are available to organisations wishing to associate with the Council.
From its earliest days, the AHDC recognises the importance of dealing with those supplying products, technology and equipment to the health design industry, and the need to bring information regarding innovative developments to the attention of our members. This is a mutually rewarding relationship for our supporters with the terms of all connections governed by AHDC policies and procedures, under the auspices of the committee of the organisation.
So far, AHDC is fortunate to have the support of two foundation partners – Invitro and PKF flooring, and the ongoing industry and event sponsorship support from partners that include Galvin Engineering, and Tarkett. We seek and welcome more partners to expand our work and there are many opportunities available in areas of interest to our members and partners.
AHDC is a relatively loosely bound organisation that encourages the interests of all its members, and there are several avenues for the expression of these in the formation of sub-committees or working parties. To date, there are three AHDC sub-committees focused on: events and educational activities, BIM and related technologies, and the recently formed health-planning group. Each subcommittee operates independently within the overall charter of the AHDC. Each has the input of an AHDC committee member with the overall aim of encouraging members to pursue diverse interests under the overarching banner of AHDC.
AHDC continues to plan and run successful information sharing and networking events. So far we have run events in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Most seminars are either free (or at reduced cost) for members, with non-members charged a fee to attend.
Seminars already held covered themes including Dutch Hospital planning compared to the Australian system, future technologies including new clinical tools and their impact on planning, implementing the use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) for logistics support, and trends in Queensland Health infrastructure procurement including the use of dRofus on the Sunshine Coast University Hospital project, and a visit to the Olivia Newton John Wellness Centre in Melbourne.
In 2012, ADHC worked closely with representatives of the Australasian College of Health Service Management (ACHSM) to organise and lead a highly acclaimed study tour to visit hospitals in the UK, The Netherlands and Norway. A team of 13 professionals visited 13 hospitals in about 10 days, which was a very rigorous and tiring program. However, subsequent feedback regarding lessons learnt and implemented on Australian projects, not to mention the formation of firm friendships and wider professional networks, pointed to the high value of this trip for all participants.
AHDC is currently working with the Sydney-based Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to plan a trip to the Netherlands in early October 2013 that will bring together a group of eight health design professionals from Australia with a similar group of their Dutch peers. This Dutch Influentials program is supported by the Netherlands government and will be an exciting opportunity for the several members of AHDC who will travel and visit various Dutch hospitals, research facilities and the offices of Dutch design professionals. In the future, this knowledge will be disseminated to the broader AHDC membership and other interested people via seminars and other events reporting on the outcome of the trip. These will be held later this year and into early 2014.
AHDC’s biggest and most exciting news at present is the imminent launch of our new website which has been in development over several months. This new website will provide information about past and upcoming events, links to other resources and organisations of interest including relevant websites or blogs. Ultimately we are working towards providing access to a comprehensive project and benchmarking database available to members only.
“...the AHDC recognises the importance of dealing with those supplying products, technology and equipment to the health design industry, and the need to bring information regarding innovative developments to the attention of our members.”
For further information about AHDC including how to join or participate in our activities, please visit www.aushdc.org.au.