Hospital design is vital in fight against pandemics 
Upgrading health care services and disease prevention methods are the basic tenets of the National Transformation Program.
It is a continuous process and Saudi Arabia has proven its ability to ensure world-class health services during the pandemic. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the health authorities moved swiftly to upgrade facilities in line with the international standards to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Fortunately, the presence of basic infrastructure and proper mechanisms to boost the health sector helped the Kingdom to handle the pandemic smoothly, which many other developed nations were not able to do. Saudi Arabia considers top-class health services one of the basic rights of its citizens. The Vision 2030 reform plan lays out clearly how keen the Saudi government is to provide primary health services and to develop an effective disease prevention plan.
However, the pandemic has affected all aspects of human life. It has become necessary to review our plans for the development of Saudi health care centers afresh.
There is a need to introduce changes in hospital and health center design to cope with any untoward situation such as the pandemic we are experiencing today. Due to rapid urbanization, there is a need to design new health care facilities keeping in mind the possibility of such epidemics.
It has become necessary to review our plans for the development of Saudi health care centers afresh.
Dr. Fatma Jobran
The pandemic has put a spotlight on health care engineering, which involves all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of illness. It also involves the preservation and improvement of physical and mental health and well-being.
The Saudi government generously invests in the health sector, with particular emphasis on three key aspects. First, ensuring the availability of medicines and beds. The second aspect is the procurement of medical equipment and the third is availability and training of medical staff.
The pandemic has reinforced the importance of the goals for the health sector set out in Vision 2030. The strength of the Saudi health care system is evident from its handling of the pandemic, now we need to further develop it and make it even more effective and resilient.
Dr. Fatma Jobran is an interior environmental design professional. She also writes on energy economics, renewable energy, urbanization, and environmental design.
