Transforming the 24/7 Clinical Laboratories - Design Considerations, Workflow and Relocation to New Diagnostics Building

Abstract

Laboratory services in Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a national referral centre, acute tertiary and teaching hospital has changed through the years with its beginning since 1821 and as a modern hospital in 1926. An opportunity to design new facilities to transform the delivery of clinical tests and embrace future challenges came up with the confirmation of a new purpose-built Pathology building in 2009. The Clinical Biochemistry Laboratories and the central specimen reception (CSR) were to be on L8 floor of the new 13-storey building. Design of laboratory layout and workflow started with provisional space allocations and this process continued even as construction works approached L8. During the design journey, updates and decisions also incorporated directives from senior management. An early decision was that the 24/7 Clinical Biochemistry laboratories be in close proximity to CSR. Two laboratory automation systems with high-speed on-line analysers were installed to support workload (5-7% annual increase) from SGH campus and outreach sites. The pneumatic tube system was enhanced to connect the rest of the hospital to L8 and a vertical transport system was built to connect L8 to the rest of the pathology laboratories at L9-L13. Centralized laboratory-grade water supplies were established for uninterrupted support to the chemistry analysers. Post go-live on 22