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Enabling Healthcare

Architecture and Design Scotland has teamed up with the Scottish Executive Health Department in a three year initiative to raise the level of ambition and design quality in NHSScotland health facilities.

A+DS, in collaboration with Health Boards, will drive forward the design agenda through:

The establishment and engagement of a network of design champions across all NHSScotland Health Boards

The enabling of 14 healthcare projects – providing dedicated, hands-on support to commissioning clients.

The provision of design assessment services on selected projects, to allow design quality to be considered as an integral part of project approval mechanisms.

The production of two dedicated health facilities publications, detailing best practice and providing case studies.

This programme is underpinned by the Scottish Executive Health Department’s ‘Policy on Design Quality for NHSScotland’. This important piece of guidance recognises the increasing body of evidence that the principles of good design - such as integration into the community and a sense of place - make a quantifiable positive impact on patients, visitors and staff.