Healthcare staff burnout is growing.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare professionals now face a raft of complex challenges—from staff shortages to increasing patient loads and administrative demands. It’s a tough time to be working in healthcare. According to Health Informatics New Zealand (HiNZ), nearly 47% of healthcare professionals reported experiencing burnout in 2022.
Burnout affects more than just staff. It influences patient care, with the mood and energy of healthcare workers shaping the treatment experience.
Healthcare facility design plays a vital role in supporting staff well-being. Poor layouts, limited storage, and overlooked staff needs create daily frustrations that build into fatigue and burnout.
The solution? A design approach that takes staff needs into account from the beginning.
Here are some of the key factors that facilitate the optimal staff experience and reduce burnout.
1. A layout that’s optimised for staff workflow:
When staff spend hours each day walking between rooms, or work in cramped rooms, it’s not only inefficient—it’s demoralising and inconvenient for staff.
It’s crucial to consider how medical equipment and patients move through the space, ensuring corridors and doorways accommodate beds and chairs, and that rooms are sized for optimal functionality. With a strong understanding of healthcare spatial design, Focusplan works with key staff to create layouts that work.
Pictured: The Canopy Imaging Hastings Molecular Imaging facility has a streamlined layout that gives access to all uptake and treatment rooms from one corridor.
2. Sufficient storage that’s designed to suit your equipment:
Nothing is more frustrating for staff than running out of space to store essential equipment.
Cabinetry can be customised to suit your equipment, reducing clutter, saving space and ensuring ease of access for staff. These solutions can include a mixture of drawers, cupboards, and open shelves.
Pictured: In the refurbishment of Auckland Radiation Oncology’s CT room, custom curved cabinetry was crafted to include an integrated workstation and a hidden touchless bin—the perfect combination of aesthetic, functionality, and space efficiency. Staff benefited from decreased clutter and a spacious work environment when moving between the control and scan rooms.
3. Staff breakout areas that aren’t an afterthought:
Staff are not machines—they are individuals who need spaces to rest, recharge, and connect.
Creating a welcoming space for staff to recoup or have a bite to eat between shifts is essential to support a healthy workplace environment. Consider integrating a variety of seating types, appliances for food preparation and storage, charging ports for devices, and plenty of natural light to alleviate stress through connection to nature.
Incorporating audio speakers in breakout areas and throughout the facility is another great way to reduce stress. Music helps staff unwind, stay focused, and maintain a positive atmosphere while they work.
Pictured: Canopy Imaging Kerikeri enjoys a sunny and spacious staff room, with visual and acoustic privacy, direct connection to nature, and comprehensive kitchen amenities.
4. Thoughtfully designed workstations:
Staff need a workstation that allows them to operate efficiently and without distractions and discomfort. The lighting, storage, desk height, seating, and proximity to others all contribute to this, meaning it’s critical to design each workstation with purpose.
During the detailed design process, we take the time to understand the required environment in each room where staff are operating. Do staff require dimmable lights to help read patient scans? What IT requirements do you have? And how can we integrate storage to provide easy access to essential tools?
Pictured: A consulting desk at Eye Institute Wellington is designed to allow the eye specialist to move between the workstation and the patient effortlessly.
Implementing these design considerations will ensure your facility enables staff to feel and perform at their best, resulting in an unmatched level of patient care. While facility design is not the be-all and end-all when it comes to addressing staff burnout, it is a key part of a top-tier staff experience.
If you are looking to expand or relocate your facility, now could be the perfect time to take your staff experience to the next level. Contact us today to understand how Focusplan can help you reach your healthcare facility goals through a world-class design and fitout.
Philips. (2022, September 12). Staff burnout in healthcare is growing. Can AI help ease the burden? Health Informatics New Zealand. https://www.hinz.org.nz/news/616471/Staff-burnout-in-healthcare-is-growing.-Can-AI-help-ease-the-burden.htm
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