How to Hire a Hospital Design and Facility Planning Consultant

Building or upgrading a hospital is not just about drawings. It is about safe patient flow, clean air, quiet wards, staff who can do their work without waste, and a site that can expand without chaos. If you want a result that works on day one, you need the right partner at the table. Here is a practical guide to hire hospital design consultant support that fits your goals, budget, and timeline in the MENA region.

Start with the Real Problem You Are Trying to Solve

Before you talk to anyone, write one page that answers five simple questions:

What is the main goal? Examples include a new inpatient tower, an ambulatory care center, an imaging upgrade, or a full site redevelopment.
What must change for patients and staff? Think waiting times, infection risk, wayfinding, clean and dirty flows, and noise.
What limits you today? Old structure, poor utilities, tight plot, parking, or license constraints.
What money and time you can commit. Put a simple range for both.
What success looks like in plain words. Safer care, shorter walks for nurses, fewer bottlenecks in theatres, and less rework during construction.

Share this one pager with every candidate. It keeps conversations real.

What a Hospital Design and Planning Consultant Actually Does

A strong consultant is the link between care, code, and construction. They translate clinical needs into layouts, room lists, and engineering standards. They shape master plans so the site grows in clean phases. They prepare documents that contractors can build without confusion. They also protect your budget and your license path.

Common work streams include:

Clinical planning for emergency, surgery, ICU, imaging, maternity, clinics, and support
Functional and space programming with room by room requirements
Master planning and phasing so care continues during works
Flow analysis for patients, staff, materials, waste, and visitors
Infection control and separation of clean and dirty routes
MEP and medical gases coordination with clinical needs
Code and accreditation alignment, including CBAHI and MOH requirements and, where relevant, JCI considerations
Cost and schedule advice that is simple and honest
Design management across architects, engineers, and vendors

When You Know You Need Outside Help

Bring in a consultant early if you see any of these signs:

Your clinical leaders disagree on the future model of care
Plans look good on paper, but floor walks reveal long travel distances and dead ends
Vendors are driving room sizes and not clinical workflows
Departments plan in isolation and create clashes later
Design meetings turn into debates about code instead of care
Construction cost warnings arrive with no clear options
Licensing questions stall progress because no one owns the answers

Two or more of these together is a clear signal to get help.

What Good Looks Like in the First Month

Week One to Two

They review your one pager, walk the site, and meet department heads. They gather data on volumes, bed numbers, case mix, and shift patterns. They sit with nursing and facilities teams to learn how the building really works.

Week Three to Four

They share a short note with three parts: what they saw, where the highest risks are, and what to do first. This note is two pages, not a book. It should include quick sketch options that show choices in a simple way.

Skills and Traits That Matter

1. Clinical Planning Depth

Ask for two hospitals where they led emergency, imaging, or theatre planning. Look for proof that travel distances shrank, bottlenecks cleared, and infection risks dropped. Ask for references from a chief nursing officer and a surgeon.

2. MEP and Medical Gas Literacy

They do not need to be the engineer, but they must know the limits of power, HVAC, oxygen, vacuum, and air changes. Poor coordination here creates expensive rework. Ask how they set environmental classes for theatres and isolation rooms.

3. Master Planning and Phasing

Hospitals rarely shut. You need clean phases. Ask for a story where they kept services open during an expansion. Ask how they managed temporary routes, decant plans, and noise control.

4. Code Awareness in Your Country

Saudi, UAE, Qatar, Egypt, and others each have different health facility guidelines. A good partner knows these and can bring a clear checklist. They should also be comfortable with accreditation implications.

5. Budget and Schedule Honesty

You want plain talk. If a design choice adds cost, you need to hear it in time to choose. Ask for an example where they reduced scope or found a simpler option that kept safety and function intact.

6. Stakeholder Alignment

Design touches many voices: finance, nursing, physicians, facilities, infection control, and IT. A strong consultant can run short, focused workshops and keep decisions moving without drama.

7. Future Proofing

Look for ideas that allow flexible rooms, modular growth, and shell spaces that can be fitted later. Hospitals change. The building should accept change without waste.

MENA Specifics to Plan For

Climate and Energy

Hot weather raises cooling load and affects external walkways and drop offs. The consultant should shape shading, plant capacity, and envelope choices that fit your location.

Licensing and Approvals

Each country has its own review steps. Your partner should map who approves what and when, and what documents are needed.

Cultural and Family Needs

Visitor flows, prayer spaces, and family areas need smart placement. A good plan reduces crowding and keeps wards calm.

Supply Chain Realities

Some systems have long lead times. An experienced consultant triggers early packages for critical items like chillers, UPS, and medical gas manifolds.

How to Run a Clean Selection Process

Write a Short Brief

Use your one pager. Add a simple site plan, key volumes, and target dates.

Shortlist Three Candidates

Use a vetted network. Match scale and clinical scope.

Share a Tiny Data Pack

Bed counts, service volumes, site photos, and a list of pain points. Ask for a two page response with a sketch option and a 90 day approach. Pay a small fee. The quality of this response shows how they think.

Run One Workshop with Each Finalist

Give them two hours on site with your core team. Let them whiteboard flows and constraints. You will see how they listen and how they explain.

Call References with Intent

Speak with one clinical leader and one project manager. Ask what changed on the floor and how the team felt during design.

Five Questions That Reveal How They Work

1. How Will You Choose Between a Bigger Emergency Department and More Inpatient Rooms?

Look for a method that links demand, staffing, and flow. You want options with numbers, not gut feel.

2. How Do You Design for Infection Control Without Making Staff Walks Longer?

Expect answers about clean and dirty zoning, separated corridors, and supply routes that do not cross patient paths.

3. What Do You Do When a Surgeon Wants a Larger Theatre That the Budget Cannot Support?

You are testing negotiation and creativity. Good answers include standard room sizes, shared support spaces, and equipment planning that avoids oversizing.

4. How Do You Prevent Late Clashes Between Architecture and Engineering?

Listen for structured design reviews, early 3D coordination, and simple checklists that catch issues before tender.

5. Tell Us About a Time You Changed Direction After Construction Started

You want a calm story with clear reasoning, minimal disruption, and honest communication with the client.

Engagement Models That Fit Different Needs

Concept and Master Plan Only

Use this when you need options and a high level phasing plan before you commit to full design. You get a road map you can take to board approval.

Full Planning with Design Management

The consultant leads clinical planning, coordinates room data sheets, and manages inputs from architects and engineers. Good for complex upgrades and new builds.

Peer Review and Guardian Role

If design is underway, ask for a second set of eyes. The consultant reviews layouts, flows, and code compliance. They attend key meetings and protect function and safety.

Pick one model and write it clearly into the scope.

A Practical 120-Day Plan

Days 1 to 30

Confirm goals, scope, and budget. Walk the site. Hold short interviews with department heads and facilities. Map current flows and pain points. Draft a functional program with room lists and basic sizes. Share sketch options to test ideas.

Days 31 to 60

Pick a preferred option. Refine layouts for emergency, imaging, theatres, ICU, and key support. Coordinate early with MEP and medical gases. Review code compliance. Prepare a phasing plan if you are building on a live site. Share a simple cost and time view.

Days 61 to 90

Freeze room sizes. Produce room data sheets for critical areas. Run a mock patient walk on the plan with clinical leaders. Fix the small things now, not later. Prepare preliminary specifications and equipment lists.

Days 91 to 120

Lock the concept. Submit for early approvals if needed. Create a clear design brief for the architect and engineers. Set the schedule for detailed design and the rules for design reviews. Agree the change control process so scope does not creep.

This rhythm keeps decisions clear and avoids late surprises.

What to Include in the Statement of Work

Scope

Sites, departments, and services in scope.

Deliverables

Functional program, room lists, room data sheets, flow diagrams, master plan, phasing plan, concept layouts, code checklist, and a design brief for the next stage.

Meetings and Workshops

Who attends, how long, and how often.

Design Review Gates

Concept freeze, schematic sign off, and rules for change.

Approvals

Which authority submissions they will prepare and attend.

Timeline

Clear dates for each gate over the 120 days.

Fees

Monthly fee, reimbursable rules, and travel terms if onsite presence is required.

Knowledge Transfer

Handovers to facilities, infection control, and clinical champions. Short guides that staff can use without external help.

Measures That Show Design Is Moving in the Right Direction

Pick a few signals and track them at each review:

Walking distance for nurses between key points on the plan
Number of patient handoffs in each pathway
Separation of clean and dirty routes, counted and shown on the plan
Theatre and imaging utilization assumptions tested against volumes
Decant and phasing impact on live services, measured in weeks and rooms
Variations raised and closed between reviews

You do not need a huge dashboard. A few checks that matter will keep the team honest.

Pitfalls You Can Avoid

Starting detailed design without a clear functional program
Letting equipment vendors size rooms without clinical flow in mind
Treating code as an afterthought
Ignoring facilities and infection control until late
Growing scope without a change control rule
Rushing approvals without the right documents

Say no to shortcuts that add risk later.

Final Checklist Before You Sign

Do we agree on a one page brief that states goals and limits?
Did each finalist give a two page approach with a sketch option?
Did we see proof of work in hospitals like ours in the region?
Did we speak with both a clinical leader and a project manager as references?
Do we have a 120 day plan in plain language that we can follow?
Is the scope, deliverables, and change process clear in the contract?

If you can say yes to each point, you are ready to hire hospital design consultant support with confidence.

Your project needs clear flows, clean drawings, and a plan that staff believe in. Innomocare can match you with a vetted hospital design and facility planning consultant who fits your site, your country, and your timeline.