The importance of the healthcare reception area

When designing the interior space for a primary healthcare centre, you need to carefully consider the type of healthcare furniture that you wish to install. One important area is that of the reception area, as this will be the very first thing that patients see, and you want to make a welcoming first impression. Below we explore some of the factors to consider when choosing fitted healthcare reception furniture.

Accessible for all patients

It’s important that your chosen healthcare furniture, such as the reception desk, is accessible to all patients. The reception counter needs to have low level access for wheelchair users and meet the needs of elderly patients. If your reception counter is not accessible to all, then this will only lead to further complications and embarrassment for the patient.

Practical

The reception area needs to work as a practical space, for both staff and patients. Reception staff, nurses and doctors all need to be able to easily access this working space, allowing them free and easy movement. It’s advisable to have no sharp corners, but instead curved lines, to avoid any unwanted injury.

A calm and safe space

The reception area is the very first thing a patient will see when entering the premises. The reception area should echo feelings of calm and provide that much-needed relaxing and safe space. A reception desk that is made with natural colours and materials can help to create these feelings. The reception counter furniture should not dominate the space, but be part of it.

Be part of the overall design scheme

The reception counter, desk and any other reception furniture should be incorporated into the space. Although it should be obvious to the patient that this is where they need to check in, the materials that are used, plus the overall design, should work well with the remaining space, use of chairs and colour scheme. This is the area where most patients will spend their time, so it needs to be professional, yet feel part of the clinic space.

Easy to keep clean

Finally, the healthcare reception furniture that you choose needs to be made from materials that are easy to keep clean. The primary healthcare centre is a breeding ground for bugs and infection, so it’s important that even the reception counter is easy to keep hygienically clean.

Healthcare reception furniture – where to find out more

If you’d like to discuss a healthcare or hospital furniture project, please get in touch.

As one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of fitted furniture for hospitals and healthcare facilities, we can design, manufacture and install furniture to meet your individual project requirements. Our Healthcare furniture range is specified for all types of hospital refurbishment and new development projects, from NHS Trust premises to private hospitals. All our furniture is manufactured at our factory in Broadstairs, Kent, here in the UK. Find out more about our range of HTM 63 and HTM 71 compliant healthcare reception furniture.