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The excellent design and layout of paediatric healthcare clinics for children may look bright, breezy and fun, but it's a lot more
complex than that.
That's because caring for young people must not only be done with the same level of competence as when treating adults, but it should be achieved in as playful a manner as possible. Striking a balance between institutional and playful, relaxed but not trite, is extremely difficult - but not impossible.
When it comes to being treated, adults' priorities are to be healed effectively and professionally. But paediatric clinics must also take into consideration the special need to engage, reassure and entertain children as their medical and dental needs are being addressed, while ensuring that patients of all ages and sizes - including their adult family members - are also taken into consideration.
The most obvious way that kid-friendly medical or dental design and fitout differs is in aesthetics. While the aesthetics of an adult facility might focus on professionalism, competence and the alleviation of patient stress, children are more actively engaged if they are delighted, happy and inspired with a 'fun' theme
Lessening the intimidation of a healthcare clinic can be achieved with bright and contrasting colours, unusual shapes and imagery and familiar multimedia and toy entertainment that spark a child's imagination and take their mind off the institutional healing tasks and environment more readily accepted by adults.
Healthcare clinics can raise the stress and anxiety levels of adults, and that is exponentially the case with children. This stress can affect the healing outcome, so it is crucial to take it into consideration in the design and fitout of a kid-friendly practice.
Children are intimidated by 'scary' medical or dental equipment, such as a large, functional dental chair, so the clinic's interior design can camouflage or divert attention from these features, replacing potentially 'frightened' emotions with playful ones.
Another consideration is in the case of practices that cater both for adults and children. If there is a paediatric area, the children may need a separate entrance, or any common areas will need to take into consideration that children are not overly exposed to potentially negative experiences.
It is also important that paediatric clinics are safe and hazard-free, that decor and furniture are easy to clean and durable, in addition to many other considerations. Experts like Dentpro know all about the specific requirements for kid-friendly medical and dental fitouts, and can assist with the interior design, construction or renovation of your project.