Like dozens of his colleagues, Western Health anaesthetist Dr David Bramley was enjoying the spacious and modern surroundings of the new Footscray Hospital on its opening day on 18 February.
But unlike most, Dr Bramley was admiring the fruits of his labour too.
For the past five years Dr Bramley has juggled his clinical role with being the medical lead on the new Footscray Hospital design team.
“It was recognised early that you get a better functional outcome when you involve the people who actually work in the space,” Dr Bramley said of why he and other doctors, nurses and hospital staff contributed to its design.
Having contributed to the design of the Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Sunshine, Dr Bramley said he was keen to the same when the new Footscray Hospital was first announced.
Beginning in 2021, he said he’d spent at least 20 per cent of his time ensuring the new building would be fit for medical purposes.
So did he and the design team succeed?
“Yes and more is a genuine answer,” Dr Bramley said, pointing to features such as peri-operative precincts where various specialists could work together to prepare patients for surgery.
“In the old building, if we needed to give anaesthetic to a patient having a radiology procedure, we’d have to go down to the basement.
“What we lovingly refer to as the old Footscray Hospital really was old.
“What we’ve got here is fabulous to look at, but the design incorporates lots of elements that support what we do.”
