Design Quality and Level of Compliance for Out-Patient Physical Facilities: Lesson for Hospital Developers in Southwest, Nigeria

This study examined the design quality and level of compliance for out-patient physical facilities at the University College Hospital (UCH) and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC) with a view to developing better healthcare design policy that will improve the quality of hospital spaces and their environment in Nigeria. Hospital physical facilities mean the structure or building and interior spaces, settings, environment, including attached facilities and amenities. In architecture, design quality is defined as value, excellence performance to specifications, fitness for use, meeting and/or exceeding customers’ expectations, and consistently delighting the customer by providing products and services according to the latest functional specifications. Through the Literature review and personal appraisal of the out- patient physical facilities carried out in the selected federal university teaching hospitals in southwest, Nigeria. Major out-patient hospital physical facilities such as entrance, record unit, reception, waiting area, counseling rooms, lobbies and corridors, pharmacy room, treatment, consulting, examination spaces and maintenance facilities was reviewed and the standard requirements design setting for each spaces was identified and appraised to check the level of design compliance. The result of the study showed the transformation of design and construction strategies that is truly needed to reach our goal of providing compassionate and safe care for the out-patients. This study will serve as reference materials to architects, healthcare researchers, facility administrators, policy-makers and healthcare managers in the efficient realization of the design issues that affect Teaching Hospitals Out-Patient physical facilities in southwest, Nigeria.