Designing a new hospital should be exciting. It’s a chance to build something better. But too often, new hospitals are planned using old ways of thinking.
Most hospital plans start with questions like:
- How many beds do we need?
- How many people will come through the door?
- How big should it be?
These questions are based on what’s happening now and in the past. They’re built around long-standing business models and long-standing ways of delivering care. So even though the building is new, it ends up with the same problems as before.
At Strasys, we do things differently…. We start with people, not buildings
Our SMASH approach starts by asking a different question: What do people need?
We look closely at the health needs of the local population; not just how services were used in the past, but what people need now and in the future. This includes things like long-term conditions, lifestyle, access to care, and how people use services.
From that, we help design new ways of delivering care; not just copy the old ones.
Smarter care, better use of resources
When you start with people’s needs, everything else changes:
- You design care around people, not buildings.
- You focus on who does what, when, and where.
- You make better use of staff, time and money.
It’s not just about putting services inside a hospital. It’s about working out which services really need to be there; and which can be delivered in the community and neighbourhood care centres.
This leads to a more flexible, joined-up health system. Hospitals supported by strong local services. Care is more personalised and more efficient.
Planning that actually solves problems
SMASH gives healthcare leaders a clear way to make better decisions. It helps avoid repeating old mistakes. Instead of just asking, “How many beds?”, we ask, “What kind of care will make the biggest difference?”
By using real data and focusing on people, we can design hospitals and health systems that are ready for the future.
It’s not just about building something new. It’s about building something better.
