Located in the heart of Singapore’s medical hub, the 14-storey Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital has been designed by global design and architecture practices HOK and CIAP. It will feature an array of user-friendly facilities including more than 250 physician suites, 333 patient beds, ample parking lots, outpatient speciality centres and aerial gardens. The 333-bed facility will include 206 Single-bedded Rooms, 37 Deluxe Rooms, eight VIP Rooms, three Super Suites, 40 Intensive Care Unit Beds, 20 Day Surgery Beds and 19 Endoscopy Beds. The super VIP suites are called the Chairman, Presidential and Royal suites.
MNH is the only hospital in the country to offer only single-bedded rooms with the cost of a basic room starting at SGD600 ($469.4) a night. For a truly luxury feel, the Chairman Suite can be opted, costing almost SGD13,000 ($10, 173.7) per night.
Patient safety and comfort were the paramount factors in the design of the hospital. The space features carpeted corridors to provide the feel of a hotel. Even staff at the concierge sports well laden uniforms to create a welcoming feel. Medical equipment is hidden out of sight and rooms are well-stocked for maximum comfort. Patient rooms are either angled or canted, with the bathroom tucked in a corner, to make them more patient-friendly. The room layout also allows more space for family members who wish to spend more time with patients. Rather than the usual mirror images, patient rooms were developed with everything in the same place to minimise medical errors. The hospital also features connectivity between in-patient wards and specialists’ medical suites.
About 90% of falls in the hospital occur when patients visit the toilet. To address this problem, toilets were designed to be as close as possible to the beds. The hospital also features a smart toilet. MNH is also the only hospital in Singapore that is bomb-proof with the windows and doors built for better soundproofing.
Apart from the interior design, the hospital has also invested in top-notch medical technology. A Biograph mMR machine combines both MRI and PET scans and is the first in Asia while the sophisticated Hybrid Operating Theatre allows surgeons to perform more complex procedures. The latest LED lights in the theatre are also shadow and heat-free, increasing the accuracy of the surgeon’s procedures.
The hospital has been built by Parkway Pantai Group, healthcare group based in Singapore. It aims to attract medical tourists to Singapore. The Group operates 16 hospitals across Asia, including Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore. Its key markets are Indonesia, Malaysia, India and China.
