Erasmus Medical Center- Rotterdam
The Healthcare Environment: What Can We Learn from Human Factors and Ergonomics?
A Webinar of the European Health Property Network
17 May 2024
13:00 – 14:30 CET // 12:00 – 13:30 UK
Healthcare environments are among the most varied and complex workplaces, ranging from public reception areas, to spaces for clinical observation, inpatient wards and surgical theatres using highly advanced technologies. And away from patient-facing environments, most healthcare facilities require sophisticated engineering and IT environments, as well as systems for managing the supply of materials and the disposal of waste.
The links between the way space for healthcare activity is planned and designed, and how human beings behave within it, is the province of Human Factors and Ergonomics research. By making environments more ‘human-friendly’, we can improve the safety, efficiency and productivity of healthcare services, and we can make positive changes to the satisfaction of patients and staff.
For our webinar on 17 May 2024, we welcome four speakers with extensive experience and knowledge of human factors and ergonomics in the healthcare environment. Each of speakers will present on their topic, followed by a panel discussion and an opportunity for our audience to put questions. This promises to be a highly informative event, in a field which deserves much more attention from healthcare facility planners, designers and constructors.
Peter Brennan, Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon in Portsmouth, UK.
Timothy Singowikromo, Project Manager and Liaison Officer at Erasmus MC – Create4Care.
Hillevi Hemphälä, PhD, Assistant Professor at Lund University
Con McGarry, Senior Consultant in the Architecture & Urbanism division of Arcadis.
We look forward to welcoming you at our webinar on 17 May 2024
Further information about our speakers and topics
Peter Brennan
Peter Brennan is a Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon in Portsmouth. He has a personal chair, and over 800 publications including more than 80 on human factors (HF) and patient safety. Peter is lead editor of Gray’s Surgical Anatomy and several other specialty surgical textbooks. In 2022, he won the coveted UK Silver Scalpel Award for outstanding contribution and excellence in surgical training.
His extensive HF work and collaborations with others have helped changed practice, improved team working and patient safety across healthcare. In 2019, Peter was awarded a Human Factors PhD. He works with national organisations including the RCS, GMC and NHS England to promote HF, patient safety and better working experiences.
His talk will be about the value of team briefing to engage with team members, empower them to speak up, reduce authority gradient and emphasise safe and effective communication. He will also address the issue of how staff look out for each other in the healthcare environment, and how they can think about ‘what if?’ scenarios.
Timothy Singowikromo
Timothy Singowikromo: As the Project Manager and Liaison Officer at Erasmus MC – Create4Care, I bridge technology with healthcare, developing innovative solutions in software, hardware, and sustainability for healthcare professionals. My responsibilities include leading projects and enhancing collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders to successfully implement our innovations.
Erasmus MC – Create4Care: Low-Tech-But-High-Impact Innovations, initiated by healthcare professionals and patients, co-designed with students. Create4Care not only addresses day-to-day challenges in healthcare but also focuses on widely disseminating the knowledge gained.
Hillevi Hemphälä
Hillevi started out as an Optometrist and realized the effects of bad lighting on her patients and studied lighting design to learn more. She got her PhD in the field of visual ergonomics and is now a researcher in light and health, with a focus on risks in the visual environment, flickering lights or temporal light modulation and integrative lighting/human centric lighting. (She is also the co-chair of the technical committee of Visual Ergonomics within the International Ergonomics Association. She is also active within the CIE, International Lighting Association, and a representative for the division of Photobiology and photochemistry.)
Light and health in health care facilities
How should you design the lighting to facilitate a better health and circadian rhythm at health care facilities? The type of luminaire, placement of it and the light distribution in the room can affect performance and wellbeing. If you are exposed to glare from luminaires you strain your eyes, that can cause headache and musculoskeletal strain. Many LEDs have TLM/non-visible flicker and can affect your brain activity causing headaches, migraines and lower performance levels. The circadian rhythm is of essential importance to get a healthy life, when working nights in white light the melatonin levels decreases having a negative effect on the circadian rhythm. Hillevi will talk about each of these important factors in light and health.
Con McGarry
Con McGarry is a dynamic and accomplished Senior Consultant in the Architecture & Urbanism division of Arcadis.
As an experienced healthcare professional with a focus on technology, Con has enjoyed a diverse career path – from pathology roles in the NHS to senior executive positions in technology enabled organisations covering areas such as urban mobility and AI backed MedTech. His expertise now spans healthcare strategy, consulting and advisory services, where he has spearheaded significant improvement programmes internationally. At Arcadis he leads the digital healthcare agenda, aiming to transform patient experiences and enhance healthcare provision through implementing innovative technology in facility design.
The digital revolution in healthcare is a widely discussed narrative and we are inundated with tales of how digital tools are poised to redefine healthcare dynamics. While the digital wave is here, and with it a profound evolution that promises to transform healthcare as we know it, what follows beyond the need to implement the technology? This session considers that theme, exploring the potential for digitally stimulated Human-Centred Design in healthcare environments.
