The opening of a first integral Emergency Station marks the completion of another key phase in the modernisation of the BovenIJ Hospital in Amsterdam. After a new Mother-Child Centre, renovated outpatient departments and a modernised Acute Care Unit, the hospital is taking another enterprising step towards the future as a healthcare organisation.
Emergency Station built result of Integral Care Agreement
Fresh, friendly and uncluttered. That describes the new Amsterdam-Noord Emergency Station, which was opened in May by the Minister for Health, Ernst Kuipers. This first integral Emergency Station is a built result of the Integral Care Agreement, reached to ensure the quality, accessibility and affordability of healthcare. Bringing together the emergency department of the BovenIJ, Noord GP Station and the Amsterdam GP Station ensures that all care providers can offer adequate acute care to patients more quickly and efficiently as one team.
Calmness in chaotic surroundings
The Emergency Station is always a stressful working environment, since each patient expects to be helped immediately. That is why the new station is designed to exude a sense of calm, for both care providers and patients. Rounded shapes, warm materials, plenty of greenery, functional lighting and clear signposting characterise the design. For patients there is just one entrance, one reception and registration counter and one waiting area. The heart of the department is the central Team Station. Both the general practitioner and the emergency doctor can do their work in the surrounding 12 rooms, letting patients remain in the same space. The design ensures that the logistical flows occur intuitively.
Family-oriented care in the Mother-Child Centre
The new delivery and maternity ward at BovenIJ offers optimal care for mothers and babies in spacious, bright and comfortable family suites. Paediatricians and gynaecologists work closely here on family-oriented care that centres on the mother and child. The number of rooms and amenities has been increased: babies in incubators remain with their mother in the room, and each suite has its own bathroom with a massage shower. With this new Mother-Child Centre, the BovenIJ Hospital can meet all quality requirements related to pregnancy and birth.
Involving users in the design process
Right from the first project at BovenIJ, it has been standard for EGM to involve all users in the design process. Knowledge sessions, workshops and mock-ups are deployed to chart needs, wishes and processes, thereby arriving at the most appropriate design possible. An intensive yet trusted approach that successfully brings together various departments and/or care professionals in one location. All phases of the renovation project took place while all care services continued uninterrupted.
Ongoing modernisation
Besides designing the first integral Amsterdam-Noord Emergency Station and the new Mother-Child Centre, EGM also oversaw the renovation of the outpatient departments. On the ward, existing four-bed rooms have been converted into contemporary three-occupant rooms, double rooms into single rooms, and an existing office wing has been transformed into a ward. EGM also supervised the revised design for the Acute Care Unit and the new look & feel for the hospital wing. The approach to modernising the complex enhances the contemporary appearance of the hospital as one entity while ensuring the uniqueness of each unit. EGM is currently working on the renovation of the plaster room. All these phases are turning BovenIJ in Amsterdam into a flexible and future-proof health organisation.
