A disabled friendly hospital is one which enables people with disabilities to freely and safely move and access facilities within the hospital. Such hospital building provides an environment of independence to individuals with disability, which is their right granted under Persons with disability act, 2016. Patient with a disability is considered as a vulnerable patient and hospitals are required to take care of their safety. Being disabled friendly uplifts the image of a hospital and is also expected by various accreditation agencies.
So what are those features that makes a hospital, ‘disabled
friendly’? Well, such hospital building typically accounts for the need of two
kinds of disabilities, i.e. loco-motor disability and visual disability. People
with loco-motor disability will either be on wheelchair or crutches and which requires a disabled friendly hospital to make its interior easily
accessible for wheelchair. People with limited vision will need mechanism to
understand ways and areas within the hospital. This is typically achieved by strategically
placing tactile floor (guiding block) and using braille, which the visually
disabled person can sense.
Here is a list of features that goes into making of a
disabled friendly hospital.
Entrances of the
hospital
1.
The doorways in the entrances should open
sufficiently (at-least 35 inches wide) to allow easy wheelchair movement
through it.
 |
| Tactile floor / Guiding block |
2.
The entrances should be accessible with pathways.
If there is a step or kerb to access entrance, a step ramp must be provided
3.
The entrances shall be provided with tactile
floor for blind people
4.
The door knob of the entrance (where equipped)
shall not be located higher than 1.2 meters from the floor, for a wheelchair
bound patient to control it. The doors shall also open easily on slight push.
Pathways / corridors
1.
The pathways are at-least 1-meter-wide for easy
movement of wheelchair and people on crutches
 |
| Step Ramp |
2.
Tactile floor shall be placed on pathways for
blind people. Guiding block shall be used at turning points.
3.
If the corridor is long, provision for seating
must be made for people on crutches to rest
4.
Pathways shall be devoid of any in between
steps. In case a step in unavoidable, step ramp must be provided
Staircases
1.
Tactile floor must be located around 16 inches
before start of staircase (both at upper and lower end of the staircase)
2.
The first and last step of the staircase shall
have a bright coloured paint line and an embossing for people with low vision.
3.
A continuous handrail must be provided
throughout the staircase. The height of the handrail shall be maintained at 35
inches from the floor. A minimum gap of 2 inches must be maintained between adjacent
wall and the rails of the staircase. The rails shall extend for 12 inches on
level floor after staircase ends
4.
The height of each step shall not be more than 6
inches. The length of each step shall be not less than 12 inches.
Ramps
1.
Ramps access must be provided to areas within
the hospital where a patient may need to go, if the elevator access is not
provided.
2.
The ramps must be at-least 1.8 meter wide.
3.
The gradient (slope) of the ramp shall be not
more than 1:12, i.e. 1 unit of rise for every 12 unit of distance.
4.
Double hand rails must be provided on both
sides, at a height of 31 inches and 35 inches. A minimum gap of 2 inches must
be maintained between adjacent wall and the rails of the ramp. The rails shall
extend for 12 inches on level floor after ramp ends
5.
The length
of the ramp shall not extend more than 9 meters at one continuous stretch.
6.
A flat
surface landing space shall be provided at beginning and end of the ramp and
after every 9-meter length of the ramp. The flat surface shall be of minimum 1.5-meter
length.
7.
Step ramp must be provided wherever ramp crosses
a step or a kerb
Signage
1.
The signage shall be clearly seen by all people.
Important signage such as emergency department and emergency exit routes shall
be illuminated
2.
The signage shall be marked with universal
symbols
3.
Important instructions for patients/public must also
be displayed in braille and at a height at which it can be easily touched by a sitting
person
4.
Contrast colours of text and background shall be
used
5.
The font size of text in signage shall be adjusted
as per the estimated distance from which it will be viewed. Below table can be
used as reference
Viewing
distance (meters)
|
Height of
the letters in text (mm)
|
2
|
6
|
3
|
12
|
6
|
20
|
8
|
25
|
12
|
40
|
15
|
50
|
25
|
80
|
35
|
100
|
40
|
130
|
50
|
150
|
Elevators (Lifts)
1.
The door of the elevator shall open wide enough
(at-least 35 inches). The internal width and depth of elevators shall be as per
the capacity.
2.
Inside elevator a handrail must be provided at a
height of around 1 meter.
3.
The time of an automatically closing door of
lift shall be minimum 5 seconds
4.
The buttons and switches inside lift shall be accessible
by a wheelchair bound patient
5.
The numbers on switches shall be embossed for a
blind person to sense
Toilets
1.
There shall be separate toilets for people with
disabilities. At-least one such toilet on every floor shall be provided. The
number must be increased if the floor is large or has high occupancy
2.
Minimum size of the toilet shall be 1.5 x 1.75
meters
3.
The door of toilet shall open at-least 1 meter
wide. The door shall swing out
4.
Vertical and horizontal handrails with 2 inches
clearance from wall must be provided inside toilets
5.
The W.C. height shall be 20 inches from ground
6.
The
toilet floor shall be non-slippery or fitted with anti-skid mats
7.
The WC shall be installed with water jet
8.
A call alarm switch shall be installed in these
toilets to call for help, if required. The switch shall be close to ground
level
9.
There shall be sufficient space adjacent to W.C.
for parking wheelchair and shifting
Other considerations
1.
The flooring of the areas that are accessed by
public shall be made up of non-slippery materials
2.
Sufficient seating provision shall be made at
waiting areas. Reserved seating for people with disabilities shall be provided.
These seats shall be firm and shall allow for the person to easily stand from
it
3.
Sufficient space shall be provided in-front of
drinking water equipment. The height of tap shall be accessible for wheelchair
bound patient
4.
Dedicated parking space for people with
disabilities shall be provided. These parking spots shall be as near to the
entrance as possible.
