Against a background of significant budget cuts and a demographic shift towards an aging population (in the Western world life expectancy is approximately seven years higher than it was 50 years ago), a major challenge for the healthcare sector is to reduce costs without compromising on the quality of treatment and care.
Integration is fast becoming the watchword in healthcare as it is in many industries when it comes to building solutions. Whether it is a hospital, an out-patients department or a care institution, the wellbeing of patients, staff, and visitors has to be catered for. This involves not only the supply of all forms of energy and climate control, but also the provision of security and fire protection. It is not unusual for a large hospital to have up to 100 different medical and building technology systems installed.
