Subacute Care Unit

This guideline describes the operational, functional and design requirements for rehabilitation, older peoples' health, and palliative care inpatient units.  The previous version of HPU 610  focussed on rehabilitation units only.  The revised version has been informed by an extensive consultation process with consumer representatives, clinicians and operational staff, academic experts, and health infrastructure specialists.

Major themes relating to the planning and design of subacute care units include:

• Key points of difference to acute inpatient units that impact on planning and design.
• Increasing level of complexity and acuity of patients on subacute care units, resulting in an increasing proportion of patients that are highly dependent on staff for transfers, mobility and activities of daily living (ADLs) and a high volume of patients who are wheelchair users.
• Involvement of families, carers and visitors as an essential component of care.
• Design strategies that promote respect, diversity and cultural safety including spaces for family / friend gatherings.
• Support for patients to connect to the ‘real world’ including through access to technology, outdoor and communal areas and support for family / visitors.
• Growth in robotics to support rehabilitation services.
• Design strategies to better support patients with dementia and delirium, as well as considerations relating to patients experiencing extreme behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).
• Wayfinding and signage strategies. This includes the use of signage, colour and contrast for wayfinding and orientation given a high volume of patients will have cognitive, visual and sensory issues.
• Importance of collocated therapy areas for rehabilitation and older peoples’ health units.
• Various therapies associated with palliative care noted to prolong functional independence, relieve symptoms and complications and improve quality of life.
• Importance of outdoor areas including areas for socialisation and for therapy.
• Environmental requirements to promote healthy sleep, support patient, family and carer privacy and enable wayfinding.
• Support for animal assisted therapy / pet visitations depending on local operational policies.

A thank you is extended to all those who have contributed to the review and update of this document.

Kind Regards,

The AusHFG Team