November 4, 2021

martha dominguez de gouveia g0PTp89dumc unsplash

It is important to understand what flooring options are on the market and which one will best suit your healthcare centre. The best flooring can help reduce stress which is important for their healing process. On top of being comfortable, there are other factors that your floor needs to subscribe to, depending on your needs. 

Why Choosing the Best Flooring Option Is Important for Healthcare 

Healthcare flooring and flooring for hospitals has to be a jack-of-all trades. It needs to be suitable for; high-traffic with thousands of people walking over it during the year, durable for medical equipment traveling over it, soft and comfortable for people to walk on, stain and water-resistant from spills, and it needs to look great and professional. 

The Requirements of Healthcare Flooring 

Commercial healthcare and hospital flooring materials need to meet certain criteria before they can be considered a viable option. These criteria include:

Durability

Healthcare and hospitals see a lot of foot traffic. They also have heavy equipment like beds and monitors rolling over them all day. As such, they need to be highly durable so they don’t need constant maintenance and replacing.

Hospitals can’t exactly just shut when they need to so they can fix their floors and tell people to stop being sick and injured. This is why their floors have to last a long time. 

Cleanliness

Healthcare flooring needs to be frequently cleaned and sterilised. A floor’s ability to be effectively cleaned plays a large part in how well it is suited to healthcare or hospital flooring. It is not only important for people forming opinions of your service, in some instances, a dirty floor can pose a risk to your patients. 

Safety 

The most durable floor and easy-to-clean would be polished concrete. However, they are not the only things important for healthcare flooring. Healthcare flooring has to be safe and somewhat soft. The damage people will sustain on a concrete floor vs vinyl flooring in commercial areas is significant. 

Noise Reduction

Healthcare and hospitals can be loud. With many people in the same area and noises coming from monitors, it can be quite jarring. These areas somehow also need to be silent for the sick and injured. Therefore, healthcare flooring needs to be somewhat noise cancelling as well. 

Professionalism 

It is important for healthcare flooring to look professional and stay in a good condition because it will help with people’s healing process. People need to remain in a comfortable environment that reduces stress in a healthcare setting. 

Our Healthcare Flooring Recommendations

Different healthcare centres and medical practices require different flooring needs. A doctor clinic flooring will have different needs to dentist flooring, or assisted living flooring. Here are our recommendations for the best flooring in each:

Hospitals

Hospital flooring in vinyl is the most common option. Hospital grade vinyl flooring absolutely needs to align itself with the requirements made above. In particular, it needs to be sterile at all times otherwise it will pose a significant health risk to patients. A dirty, infected floor in a surgery could kill someone if they are in a critical condition.

Usually, hospital vinyl flooring is vinyl sheet because it is easy-to-install in large areas and is cost effective.

Dentists and Smaller Centres

In these smaller centres and dentistries, vinyl flooring is still the best option. However, the more stylish luxury vinyl planks can be used, particularly in waiting rooms. The aesthetics of these areas is important, especially for the dentist, because it needs to reduce stress and any fears patients may have. 

Medical Offices and General Practitioners 

In these settings, the flooring is not too dissimilar from a regular office. Yes, it still needs to be durable because it still sees a fair amount of foot traffic, but the book-in-appointment these centres provide make it manageable. Additionally, the amount of spills and sterilising of these centres will be less.

As such, these offices have a focus on noise canceling and comfort. So they often use carpet tiles for their space. 

Assisted Living Spaces 

Assisted living spaces need to feel as homely and comfortable as possible, while having lots of people living there. 

Carpet tiles and other forms of carpet are the best options because they are noise reducing, and most importantly, they are comfortable. 

Other Flooring Options 

Concrete polished flooring, though it may be less safe and less noise reducing than vinyl flooring, is still a good option for healthcare spaces. 

It may have its disadvantages, but it is without a doubt the most durable floor and will last the longest. This is a huge advantage in hospitals because you don’t want to disrupt its everyday operation with maintenance to your floor. Additionally, concrete polished floors are very easy to clean and sterilize, which is important to healthcare centres. 

Flooring We Do Not Recommend 

Wooden Floorboards 

We do not recommend wooden floorboards because they are damaged easily and they are very loud. They will scratch easily with hospital equipment rolling over them and peoples shoes will make a lot of noise. Wooden floorboards are also expensive.

Laminate

Laminate floors will have the same problems as wooden floorboards. They scratch easily and can be very loud.

Broadloom Carpet

Broadloom carpet and other thick carpets are not a good idea for healthcare spaces because they will hold the dust, dirt and mess from the high-traffic moving over them. If you want carpet, go with the more resilient office carpet tiles or similar. 

How to Get Your Healthcare Flooring Installed  

Jupps Floor Coverings have been providing high quality flooring solutions since 1962. We pride ourselves on our sense of community. We give back. Jupps believes in giving back to our community and supporting local sporting teams. We’re fully compliant with Australian standards and regulations and make sure you receive a quality solution with the fastest turnaround.

Vinyl flooring for hospitals and healthcare centres will be installed best by us. Make sure you get your pet-friendly flooring before your pet. For more flooring tips or to get help from a professional, contact us today!