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The healthcare sector in the country is undergoing a transformative shift, placing patients and sustainability at the heart of its infrastructure development. Hospitals and medical facilities across the country are increasingly adopting designs that prioritize patient comfort, healing environments, and eco-friendly operations.
From incorporating natural light and ventilation to using green building materials and energy-efficient systems, healthcare institutions are rethinking traditional layouts. The goal is not only to improve patient outcomes but also to reduce the environmental impact of healthcare delivery. Leading hospitals are pursuing green certifications such as IGBC and GRIHA. Modular designs, smart technologies, and biophilic elements are also being integrated to enhance both patient experience and operational efficiency.
Whilst India is rapidly creating health infrastructure in both the public and private sector, it is important that we create patient centric buildings which have sustainability at its core. Departmental adjacencies for ease of patient navigation and proper alignment of vertical and horizontal movement pathways helps to ease patient and staff movements, said Dr. Vivek Desai, founder and managing director, HOSMAC.
Hospitals are guzzlers of energy and hence it is important we design buildings which conserve energy. Simple orientation of buildings like harnessing the north light and creating courtyards and atrium spaces which helps the building to breathe will reduce the energy consumption. Using energy efficient equipment/lighting, water conservation and recycling grey water for use like flushing toilets, back up water for air conditioning, and landscaping needs will go a long way in making hospitals sustainable. It would help the government incentivise such sustainable hospitals by giving subsidies in electricity tariffs or rebates on property taxes or extra FAR/FSI, he added.
Any nation is known for its development basis of its healthcare, education and infrastructure like roads, railways, airports, sanitation and housing. India is yet to achieve these goals, though we are on track and are moving fast. This is also helping us build out healthcare infrastructure in the tier II/III and rural areas. Wellness centres of the government are helping us to reach primary healthcare to India’s hinterland. Hospital chains are now looking outbound from the urban metros as accessibility is improved and so has the social infrastructure with better connectivity, Dr Desai told Pharmabiz.
Ayushman Bharat Health Insurance Scheme has been a game changer in making healthcare affordable whereby super specialty care is now within reach of the poor as well. Creation of over 21 AIIMS and upgradation of numerous district hospitals is helping people to avail healthcare closer to their homes, he noted.
The number of medical colleges have more than doubled in the last 10 years which was a need to be able to get more doctors. Similar thrust is now proposed for nursing and para medical courses as well to create the required human resource for the incremental healthcare infrastructure that is getting created. Capital provision at low interest rates during the Covid period lead to growth of hospitals in smaller towns. Similarly such impetus is required to boost the capex required to build more hospitals as India has to more than double the number of beds per thousand population from the current 1.1 to 3.0. This requires huge capital to be deployed as it requires anywhere between 50 lacs to 100 lacs per bed to create a good quality hospital ranging from secondary to tertiary care, said Dr Desai.
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