Phuket’s new high-tech Dibuk Hospital rounds up medical care

PHUKET: Construction has started on the much-hyped circular Apple headquarters in Silicon Valley, California, but Phuket is about to beat the IT giant with the opening of the new high-tech Dibuk Hospital later this month. And yes, it’s round too.

Walking around the new hospital building leaves one quite impressed. And walking around gains a whole new meaning in a building that’s actually round. This futuristic, circular design isn’t there just for the jaw-dropping visual effect – it’s all about practicality and efficiency.

“We used a circular design to provide more happiness and great service for the patients,” said Piriya Atisook, hospital director.

“Patient care areas are on the outer ring while the staff areas are in the center core. This reduces the distance that the doctors and nurses have to walk to reach our patients. Every area in the building is close to the nurses’ station,” he explained.

By reducing the distance between the staff and patients, the designers aimed to increase productivity and make the interiors more welcoming for the patients, their relatives and hospital staff.

The seven-storey building contains an outpatient ward with nine examination rooms, while three entire floors are dedicated to inpatients, with 16 beds on each floor.

“We calculated that 16 is the efficiency threshold that allows staff to pay the most care to the patient,” explained Mr Piriya.

When the first-stage of the Dibuk Hospital opens, there will be 32 beds available for inpatients, while the full capacity of 224 beds is expected to be reached next year, when two further circular buildings are completed. The hospital will also have six emergency beds and will share an ambulance service with Bangkok Hospital Phuket. Its location, south of Phuket Town, will reduce transport times for emergency patients from the south of the island, and hopefully contribute to saving lives in the crucial early minutes of critical care.

In addition to increasing the efficiency of staff and convenience to patients, the designers worked on the project with the environment in mind.

“The building is covered with aluminum composite outside which is easy to maintain and helps save energy. The walls of the building work like a refrigerator, reflecting the heat from the outside,” explained Mr Piriya. This innovation is expected to lower the use of energy for air conditioning to just 20 per cent of what the Bangkok Hospital Phuket uses.

The green aspect of the new hospital doesn’t end there; it also includes a water-recycling plant as well as a system that collects rainwater for reuse.

Another resource that is about to be saved thanks to the innovations in the new hospital is paper, and at the same time – time. The hospital uses an Electronic Medical Records system (EMR), making Dibuk
Hospital the second in Southern Thailand to use this solution.

QR (Quick Response) codes will be used to add information to patients’ records, which is more convenient for the patients, easier for the staff to use, and in general safer and more efficient. This innovative system makes it much simpler to generate reports and trace a patient’s medical history.

Diagnostic medical equipment is also integrated into the electronic-records system, automatically feeding precise data about a patient into his or her record for easy access.

“The doctors don’t need to waste time looking for medical records,” adds Mr Piriya.

The 60 staff members, including eight doctors and 30 nurses, work closely with the staff of Bangkok Hospital Phuket – sharing resources and experience. Data, such as x-rays and test results, can be quickly shared between the two locations to benefit the patients. While Bangkok Hospital Phuket takes care of the most complicated cases, the Dibuk Hospital will focus on more common diseases and simpler procedures, together offering Phuket patients the most complete treatment possible.

“Our philosophy is so called ’empathy care’ meaning more attention and personal, individual treatment,” explains Mr Piriya.

“The Dibuk Hospital inpatient wards are expected to open later this month, once the Ministry of Public Health grants its approval. The outpatient clinic is already up and running.”

Dibuk Hospital is located at 89/8-9 Chao Fa West Road, Wichit, Muang District, Phuket 83000. (Approximately 700 meters south of Rolly Tasker and the Shell service station)

For more information, visit the website here, or email info@dibukhospital.com.

— Maciek Klimowicz