FUNCTIONS OF OPD:

 Provide effective treatment – on ambulatory basis

 Facilitate screening and investigations – to confirm whether or not hospitalisation is required
 Control disease – by early diagnosis and timely treatment
 Control and surveillance – of communicable diseases to prevent an outbreak of epidemic
and conduct activities in the field of preventive medicine
 Facility for training – for training of medical, para-medical and nursing staff. May also
provide avenue for epidemiology and social research
 Provide follow-up care – to discharged patients and their rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE:

 Provide quality of care

 Modern techniques for investigation and treatment
 Facilities for total patient satisfaction
 Good public relation

DESIGN PARAMETERS

 Location
 Close to vital adjuncts
 Easily accessible
 Smooth flow of traffic
 Should be on ground floor preferably/separate complex
 Design considerations
 Patient accessibility
 Centralised polyclinic or decentralised speciality clinic
 Effective, comprehensible, standard signage should be planned
 Maintain dignity and privacy of patients
 Cater for future expansion
 Educational resource area to be integrated in the main lobby
 Waiting area and public spaces should be large enough
 Day care facilities may be planned as support services
 Should allow natural light and good ventilation
 Physical facilities to be planned
 Clinical areas
 Consultation rooms
 Special examination rooms
 Administrative area
 Circulation area
 Ancillary/subsidiary facilities – injection rooms, treatment and dressing room,
pharmacy, medical record room
 Auxiliary/additional facilities – laboratory, medical imaging services, screening
clinics, medico-social services, health education facilities

FUNCTIONAL AREAS
 Clinical laboratory
 Centralised sample collection area for urine, stool and blood
 Washroom, toilets and a blood collection room should be provided
 In large OPD, routine examination room adjacent to collection station
 Pharmacy – located as to serve both inpatients and OPD patients
 Specialised OPD services
 Gastrointestinal endoscopy lab, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy
 Pulmonary function room
 Cardiac OPD
 Staff room
 Parking and entrance
 Main entrance – gentle sloping ramps to facilitate movement
 Entrance should have a double door with a width of 1500mm
 Wheelchairs should be readily available at the entrance
 Staff and patients entrance should be separate
 Parking should be close to entrance
 Enquiry desk, reception area
 Height of counter should be adapted to need of wheelchair patients
 To ensure privacy, reception should have counters
 Waiting area
 Space recommended is 0.8 sq. meter per patient for one third of average daily
patients attending OPD in one session
 Sub-waiting areas may be shared between the various consultation rooms
 Distance from the waiting area to the consultation room should be short
 Toilets should be close