
Deerns’ Blue Hospitals approach combines Smart technology and Sustainability to transform hospital performance.
Blue Hospitals are increasingly vital as the healthcare sector grapples with growing demand, operational inefficiencies, and strict regulatory requirements like the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Blue Hospitals are more than just healthcare facilities; they are hubs of innovation designed to align with the “Quadruple Aim” in healthcare – Patient Centrality, Better Health Outcomes, Lower Costs and Employee Wellbeing. This is all augmented by Sustainability and Smartness as additional critical factors. With advanced technologies and AI, as part of the smart component of Blue Hospitals, we can create data-driven, efficient, and future-proof facilities.
These principles drive a holistic approach to hospital design, ensuring optimal outcomes for all stakeholders. With its deep expertise in sustainable and smart systems design, Deerns is at the forefront transforming healthcare facility performance.
AI enhances Smart & Sustainable Hospitals
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a cornerstone of the smart functionalities in Blue Hospitals.
AI enables significant advancements across 5 main building performance areas:
- Data-Driven Decision Making: AI algorithms analyse vast datasets from smart building installations, allowing for predictive maintenance, energy optimisation, and workflow management.
- Energy Management Systems (EMS): AI-integrated EMS dynamically adjust HVAC systems, lighting, and other utilities based on occupancy and usage patterns, cutting energy consumption by up to 30%.
- Occupancy and Resource Tracking: AI- powered algorithms which provide actionable insights to optimise space usage, reduce energy wastage, and enhance cleaning efficiency.
- Asset Tracking: AI powered algorithms integrate data from multiple streams to simplify management of hospital equipment, such as equipment usage information, location tracking, maintenance information
- Smart Workflows: An example is AI-enabled nurse call systems, which prioritise alarms based on proximity and urgency, saving critical time and enhancing patient care.
- Patient monitoring: Nurses can monitor patients from distance with AI powered functionalities such as fall detection
Challenges in Implementing AI
While the benefits of AI are clear, hospitals must navigate challenges such as data privacy and security, ensuring compliance with GDPR and other regulations. Furthermore, although long-term savings are significant, upfront costs for smart systems may be significant, depending on the project’s needs. Acceptance testing of these solutions is a challenge because of complex and critical nature of hospital operations. These can be overcome by having involved/engaged stakeholders and pilot testing.
" By integrating AI into these environments, hospitals can unlock unprecedented efficiencies, better health outcomes and alignment with global ESG goals.
Here’s where we pioneer Blue Hospitals
Deerns integrated design philosophy allows us to incorporate the Blue Hospitals framework from the earliest stages of design, ensuring seamless integration of smart and sustainable elements. A ley contributor is as a result of bringing relevant stakeholders onboard at the beginning stage for better success Projects like the Radboud Hospital in the Netherlands highlight Deerns’ ability to deploy cutting-edge smart systems tailored to specific user needs.
In our work on projects like Reinier de Graaf hospital, Deerns has developed holistic business cases for our clients, providing data-backed justifications for smart investments into, for example, energy transitions and asset tracking. We also help clients navigate complex compliance landscapes such as the EPBD legislation and ESG reporting mandates.
What are Blue Hospitals & why are they important?
The concept of Blue Hospitals represents a groundbreaking integration of design and technology to revolutionise healthcare infrastructure. This approach has been developed to address both the immediate needs of healthcare providers and tof energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Blue Hospitals meet 4 Critical Needs
Deerns has developed its Blue Hospitals approach to address the evolving needs of clients in the healthcare sector:
- Enhanced Patient Outcomes: Smart systems regulate factors like lighting, air quality, and acoustics to aid recovery.
- Operational Efficiency: Data-driven insights improve workflows, resource allocation, and cost management.
- Sustainability Goals: Integrated systems reduce energy consumption and carbon footprint, aligning with global ESG objectives.
- Regulatory Compliance: Future-ready designs meet stringent energy and operational standards, such as the EPBD.
Constituents of a Blue Hospital
A Blue Hospital leverages technology to enhance the outcomes of all six of its goals:
- Smartness: Advanced technologies, including AI, IoT, and Building Management Systems (BMS), enable real-time monitoring, automation, and decision-making.
- Sustainability: Energy-efficient systems reduce resource usage while improving building performance. The systems design is optimized design to reduce embodied CO2 in building intallations.
- Patient Centrality: Facilities designed to enhance patient satisfaction and recovery through intuitive technologies and optimised environments.
- Better Health Outcomes: Smart sensors and data analytics monitor air quality, occupancy, and more to create healthier spaces.
- Cost Efficiency: Predictive maintenance, energy management, and streamlined workflows lower operational costs over time.
- Employee Wellbeing: Smart tools improve workplace efficiency, reduce stress, and free up time for patient care.
The Future of Blue Hospitals
As healthcare evolves, Deerns is proactively considering how smart technologies may enhance future developments. This could include:
- Smart Grids and Energy Sharing: Hospitals contributing to and benefitting from interconnected energy systems.
- Advanced AI Applications: Machine learning models predicting patient influx, optimising resource allocation, and enabling personalised healthcare.
- Sustainability Milestones: Full compliance with net-zero energy mandates by 2050.
Deerns is committed to leading this transformation, leveraging its expertise to help hospitals achieve these goals and set new benchmarks in healthcare facility performance.
" Blue Hospitals represent the next frontier in healthcare design, combining smartness and sustainability to create resilient, efficient and patient-centric facilities.
By integrating AI into these environments, hospitals can unlock unprecedented efficiencies, better health outcomes and alignment with global ESG goals. Deerns stands ready to guide this journey, building smarter hospitals for a healthier future.