Abstract
In five wards at Huddinge University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, rooms originally built for the care of two patients have been rebuilt to contain three patients instead. This was done mainly as a result of an increasing demand for beds at the hospital. The mean area per room was increased by 3,7 m2, but the area per patient in these new, 3-bed settings decreased by 2,3 m2. The aim of the present study was to investigate the opinions of the patients and the healthcare personnel regarding these 3-bed settings. The data were collected by using group or telephone interviews. Nine patients from three of the wards (5 women, 4 men, aged 50–86 years) were included in the study. Head nurses, nurses, assistant nurses, cleaners, doctors, physiotherapists and the occupational therapist from the five wards were interviewed. The hygiene nurse and one person from the hospital security department were also interviewed. The results showed that the 3-bed settings were regarded as narrow and limited, both to be and to work in. The access to toilets and bathrooms and the visiting space became restricted. The interviewed personnel worried about the integrity of the patients and the security aspects of the 3-bed settings. Especially for the staff in the wards, i.e. the nurses and assistant nurses, problems arose in many daily situations, above all, in connection with the transport of the patients and in the intimate bedside care. The new 3-bed setting had consequences for both the patients'care and the healthcare personnel's working environment that are worth listening to when hospital premises are being planned.