Mechanical engineering in hospitals.

Abstract

The design of a modern hospital owes more to engineering than the layman may realize. In this context, many engineers are in the position of laymen, being unfamiliar with the multitude of services that lies behind the impressive facade of a modern hospital. In recent years medicine and surgery themselves have taken on many of the characteristics of a technology. This has required a matching development of the services both mechanical and electrical that are required in modern health care buildings. In medical terms, if the architectural features provide the 'skin' of the hospital, the mechanical and electrical engineering services provide the nerves and sinews. If we take as an example the recently completed Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, (Fig. 1), which cost 10 million pounds at current cost, the service network was responsible for about half the total cost. About 400 miles (643 km) of electrical wiring and more than 40 mile (64.5 km) of copper and steel piping were used to service 3000 separate rooms. This compares with percentages of between 18 and 25 per cent for other large buildings such as office blocks, hotels and sports complexes.