Qatar will develop 50 to 70 medical centres over the next 10 years, reflecting a new focus on smaller facilities rather than big hospitals.

Speaking at MEED’s Qatar Projects conference, Omar Bahgat, vice-president and regional manager at ECG Engineering Consultants Group, said his company is working on seven centres, procured by Ashghal, Qatar’s Public Works Authority.

One, at al-Saad, will begin construction soon. The other six are imminent, with three under design.

Those three are redesigns of initial plans, changed to reflect a new approach in Qatar, making medical centres into more general wellness-focused facilities. They have less medical, more general features such as swimming pools.

“The vision is is to change the traditional design of hospitals, especially medical centres, to wellness centres,” said Baghat.

Plans for the five ECG centres are around “evidence-based design,” he added. This takes in more subtle design traits such as colour and light, which can affect the mood of patients and have biological and emotional benefits.

“Even the arrangement of furniture in waiting areas” is being addressed, he said, as this can make long waits more pleasant for patients and their families.