We live in a world where being an industry leader relies on so much more than skill. It also requires an excellent marketing plan, the right location, and designing your veterinary practice with your brand, your clients, their pets and your team in mind.
A visually pleasing vet practice is only one part of the equation. Several practice design principles need to be considered: spatial design, lean design principles and emotional design. Evoke Projects examines each of these, highlighting their importance in a veterinary practice fit-out to improve your business success.
Spatial design is about the layout of a space. Spatial design is essentially what you see represented on a floor plan. It allocates space in different areas for different purposes.
You will want to consider your clients. Will they expect opulence or a simple practice design for their pets? How much space do they need during their appointment? They won’t want to feel cramped or claustrophobic. Likewise, they won’t want their pets to feel uncomfortable. Separate waiting areas for cats and dogs are helpful and even species-specific treatment rooms.
If you know you need three consulting rooms to be profitable, these should be incorporated into the spatial design. The council might specify how many toilets you need and how wide corridors need to be. Your spatial design also needs to accommodate the size of any equipment you want to use, now and in the future.
Your veterinary practice team will also be happier if they have enough room to do their job comfortably and without restrictions.
Lean veterinary design is about avoiding waste. This includes waste of time, space and movement.
Consider treatment flow, designing your veterinary practice fit-out to be efficient. Systemise your practice with clear labelling of drawers/cupboards and well-managed inventory.
While it’s nice to have airy spaces, make sure that space isn’t wasted and that there’s a balance between comfort and excessive use of space. For example, if you have six vets who don’t work at the same time, instead of setting up six consulting rooms, you might create three identical rooms that can be used as required.
Lean design contributes to your profitability, as you can use smaller premises to achieve the same goals.
Emotional design is about how a space makes people and animals feel. Veterinarians aspire to Fear Free environments. Although not a lot is known about animal preferences, calming colours and avoidance of fluorescence is recommended. Soft mats on examination tables will make animals more comfortable. Toys may help to relax pets.
Other elements of emotional design might include:
Light: Everybody feels better in natural light. If natural light isn’t available, skylights can be installed to let the sunshine in. There is lighting that mimics the changes in light that occur outside during the day by automatically changing the temperature or warmth of light globes. Dimmable lights for overnight pet stays are a good idea.
Acoustics: Use materials that block, absorb or mask noise. Animals will be calmer in quiet environments. This is one area that Evoke Projects recommends investment during an initial veterinary fit-out as it can be difficult to install retrospectively.
Community: Make sure there is space for your team to feel like a team. When team relationships are good, people are happier at work. This helps with retaining team members and results in a better experience for clients when your team is happy and working cohesively.
Natural elements: People aren’t made to spend excessive amounts of time in built environments. We all have an innate connection to nature. It comforts us to feel close to natural elements. Evoke Projects uses wood or wood-look cabinetry, plants and light to create an environment that feels more in tune with nature, while ensuring that surfaces meet the hygiene and microbial criteria required in health settings.
Air and thermal comfort: Pheromone diffusers can help to relax animals. HEPA filters in air conditioning keep people and animals safer. Thermal comfort is also important. Balanced air conditioning or individual room temperature controls can be built into your veterinary design to ensure everyone is comfortable.
Prioritising health: Installing showers and locker rooms will encourage your team to jog, walk or cycle to work. This keeps them physically fit, and exercise raises endorphins making people feel happy. Happiness is contagious; it will have a positive effect on your veterinary practice.
Talk to Evoke Projects about the benefits to your veterinary practice from improved spatial, lean and emotional design. Please call 1300 720 692 to discuss your veterinary fit-out.
