Entrants are encouraged to identify specific issues in the current hospital model and then propose solutions which will lead to improvement in the experience of patients and visitors. For example, how does effective ward and room design minimise noise, reduce stress and maintain dignity whilst ensuring patients do not become isolated? How could greater use of green space and planting accelerate recovery times? To what extent does the aesthetic appearance of a hospital matter to the end user, and if so, how might it be enhanced?

Submissions should demonstrate how effective design and planning can underpin improved clinical outcomes. For example, would the physical separation of emergency and non-urgent elective surgery benefit both groups of patients? What types of facilities would be required to make this feasible within the NHS? We also know that technological advances such as robotics, artificial intelligence and remote medicine are changing the way in which care is delivered and cannot be ignored. How will new clinical services and techniques impact on future hospital design? Does modular design offer an answer? Is it possible to plan for the unknown?  We would also welcome suggestions that improve infection control in hospitals and enhance patient safety.

There is evidence that a well-designed and functioning building can assist staff to perform in their roles. Designing floorplans so that doctors and nurses can move through the hospital with ease, incorporating communications and monitoring equipment as part of the build stage, and introducing on-site laboratory facilities to fast-track results are some examples of this. Alongside delivering against its primary functions, hospitals must also be welcoming work environments. This encompasses a range of considerations for staff, including transportation links, the availability of shower and locker facilities and access to green spaces. We also need to acknowledge that hospitals are 24hr buildings. How can we ensure that the hospital workforce has access to high quality food and rest facilities throughout the day and night?

The benefits of a well-functioning hospital are not restricted to the site alone. We would welcome submissions which explore how planning can achieve better integration between hospital-led and non-hospital NHS and social care services. As the boundaries between primary, secondary and tertiary services increasingly blur, do we need to rethink the notion of a hospital as a building and instead re-define it as a set of services? Another approach could look beyond the commissioning of services, and instead assess the role of hospitals as anchor institutions which foster knowledge sharing, such as through co-location with science and research. Is it feasible for hospitals to become centres of prevention as well as cure – moving our health system from orientating solely around managing illness towards promoting health?  

Alongside the four priorities listed above, the Judges would welcome ideas which can be delivered in an environmentally sustainable way.

Entrants should be emboldened to think radically about what the hospital should be in the decade ahead. The Judges welcome entrants from anywhere in the world but are seeking solutions which could be applied to the health service in the United Kingdom. We encourage submissions from all parts of the community and would particularly welcome submissions from cross-disciplinary teams.

Detailed financial modelling is not expected, but submissions should nonetheless demonstrate how their idea(s) could be delivered within a normal capital envelope for new hospitals, or alternatively quantify the benefits of exceeding normal budgets.