A report released by architects BDP suggests France builds far better hospitals than the UK, and for less money. Indeed, according to BDP, French hospitals sound more like hotels, with every patient getting their own room, as well as fresh air and daylight. But les hôpitaux Français only cost between half and two thirds of what UK hospitals cost per m2.

BDP marketing director Richard Saxon used the report to highlight areas of UK construction that could improve during a recent Be conference. He reckoned the French spend less than us on services in part because French designers leave detailed specification to the contractors. So in France a contractor could place large advance orders with, say, a lift manufacturer and reap the benefit of bulk ordering.

This contrasts sharply with the UK. “The small and sporadic UK orders are probably not even for the standard product as we are notorious for customising everything,” Saxon wrote in the report.

The French believe everyone should have their own bedroom because this helps them recover more quickly and protects them better from cross infections. BDP’s report referred to anecdotal evidence from the US, which suggested that 85 single-room beds are as effective as 100 beds in multi-bed wards because, in the case of the latter, full capacity is difficult to achieve if you need to slot people in by gender and by proximity to specialist areas. Convinced? 

The NHS is reserving judgment. Head of construction Peter Woolliscroft said that while any information leading to better healthcare is welcome, it would be wrong to accept the report’s conclusions without more analysis. So the NHS has decided to investigate French methods itself. Woolliscroft leaves room for the possibility that a fuller picture could well show that the differences between the two countries’ approach to building hospitals are less significant. cm

They take their beds seriously

Every patient gets his or her own room in France. They see it as essential to recovery time and preventing infections. They allow more space per bed, and spend slightly more on average per bed

They spend more on structure

And less on services. Getting daylight and fresh air to each room adds to the cost of substructure, but the French rely more on natural ventilation. So they spend less on air conditioning, and lighting too

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Construction Manager