Hemas Hospital wins building award

Hemas Hospital at Wattala has won the prestigious ICTAD Award for the Best Building Project 2009. The award is given annually by the Institute for Construction Training and Development (ICTAD) to the building which had used the most innovative techniques, quality assurance methods and concern for adverse effects on the environment, among other criteria.

Hemas Hospital at Wattala

"We are delighted", said Chairman - Hemas Hospital (Pvt) Ltd., Murtaza Esufally, as he heard the news of the award. "It is a tribute to everyone in the project team, our investors, the architects, the contractors and the doctors who helped us in designing this hospital," he said.

He paid tribute to the international partners, Columbia Asia who contributed significantly by providing an international standard of hospital design. "Right infrastructure is vital for high levels of healthcare service delivery," he said.

"To be selected as the excellent project of the year is indeed a proud achievement," said CEO - International Construction Consortium (Pvt) Ltd., Namal Peiris the construction company of the Hemas Hospital. "The award to Hemas Hospitals was in the bigger range, that is, from among those which had cost over Rs 500 million."

An independent panel of judges selects the award winning entries from among many applications which are short listed after an initial evaluation.

Hemas Hospitals meets with international standards set by the WHO (World Health Organisation) and falls into the category of 'Family Hospitals' where a patient-friendly environment has been created. "The hospital was designed on a relatively new concept giving pride of place to the needs of the patients, the visitors and the workforce. We made it attractive to all these sectors so that while making the stay of the patient a comfortable one, we also made the visitors feel quite at home when they visit the patients. Equally important are the doctors, nurses and other staff - they too should feel happy to work in a pleasant environment," architect Rukshan Vidyalankara said.

Apart from the overall design, much attention has been paid to detail in the building. The colours used on the walls, the lighting and other basic things have been looked at very closely. "An attempt has been made to recreate a home atmosphere so that patients would feel comfortable to be around a pleasant environment. To achieve this we took great care in the finishes of the building giving top priority to cleanliness where the hospital can be kept clean easily," the architect explained.