Post Occupancy Evaluation of Innovative Hospice Care Model

The central aim of this project is to determine the key benefits to the quality of life as experienced by patients, staff and families in a palliative care environment through the provision of an enhanced care model delivered within an innovative architectural programme. The opportunity is given by the relocation of PPW Hospice from their existing premises to a "new build" location in Glasgow. The envisaged methodology seeks to leverage the architectural procurement and delivery process to deliver new insights and new knowledge of the relationship between design intentions and operational outcomes.
The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow has a client base of 1200 new patients every year. The service is delivered by a team of doctors, nurses, therapists, counsellors, chaplains, social workers and volunteers who practice a model of integrated, patient centred care. After 30 years of adapting and adjusting their current premises the hospice is now in the process of moving to a new location. The intention is that this new building will deliver not only the expected improvements in economy and efficiency through the deployment of modern construction technology but that the architectural program can also deliver improved outcomes in patient care and wellbeing through a salutogenic approach to the design of a new patient and family care model. This new approach is based on the Swedish "Sengatan" model and will be a unique example in UK health care.
The research team will work alongside the design team, Ryder Architecture and the client, PPWH to determine if the holistic process of briefing, design and construction can deliver optimal operational performance. A key tool in determining the research outcomes is the Soft Landings Framework.
The Soft Landings Framework is a joint initiative between BSRIA (Building Services Research and Information Association) and UBT (Usable Buildings Trust. The framework forms part of a Scottish Government policy designed to mandate the greater use of post occupancy evaluations to improve the performance of the construction sector.
Soft Landings is a building procurement and delivery process which runs through any project, from inception to practical completion and beyond, to ensure all decisions made during the project are based on improving the operational performance of the building and meeting the client's expectations.
The research will focus on a number of key questions:
- What is the performance of the existing environment? This will provide a benchmark against which to test the project outcomes.
- Were the requisite ambitions and requirements clearly defined and stated in the process of project inception and client/design team briefings.
- Can it be shown that during the design phase, where specific performance targets are set and regulatory compliance achieved, that the briefing process elicited sufficient and accurate information to address these issues.
- Whether budget or program constraints within the construction programme compromised the design intentions.
- To what extent has the completed new build delivered to the brief and does the resulting building perform to specification; both in terms of architectural function and user requirements.
Ultimately, the research will prove whether demonstrable benefits to the quality of life as experienced by patients, staff and families have been delivered.