Bedside manner

Clinical white corridors and intrusive strip lighting are usually what come to mind when you think of hospital interiors. No matter how keen you are on clean minimalist design or nurses, you probably wouldn’t want your home or hotel room to resemble even the nicest looking ward.

But last week BMI Healthcare opened the Phoenix Weymouth Hospital in London, designed by EPR Architects to resemble a purpose-built luxury hotel rather than a hospital.

The hospital has 17 private rooms, each with a luxury en-suite bathroom, flat screen TV, surround sound entertainment system and wireless internet. Dark wooden floorboards, chrome light fixtures are common elements of the bedrooms, and the chandeliers and leather sofas of the reception look more like an expensive hair salon than a doctors.

Even the operating theatre has been given the glitz treatment, resembling a smart restaurant kitchen complete with polished chrome storage.

There’s no doubt that the design of Phoenix Weymouth Hospital will offer more visual stimulation to those that have to stay there than the average white-washed ward – even if it’s a luxury available to very few.