Medical Room Fit-Outs & Requirements

23 March 2021

Alykan has seriously diversified its pool of experience in the past few years. We are lucky enough to now be working in the medical field (alongside our usual office fit-outs). But did you know that medical facilities have some very strict standards that must be adhered to? They are well beyond a traditional office fit-out. Here’s just the gist:

AS/NZS 3003 2018 is the standard for Patient Area Electrical Installations. Patient areas, or ‘Body or Cardiac Protected Areas’, include treatment clinics, hospitals, dentists, and any other clinic where electrical medical equipment is used on someone. Offices, labs, sterilisation rooms, receptions, etc do not need to be body-protected. It is the role of the organisation to classify relevant rooms as such, but failure to do so could turn out to be disastrous (some organisations, like dentists only need to do this voluntarily).

We’ve spoken previously about the risks of electricity, and how it can kill, easily. In this case, it can be the lack of electricity that is a risk factor. It’s just as important, if not more important in such an environment to keep vulnerable people as safe as possible. Loss of power in these circumstances could be catastrophic. Imagine you’re at a dental practice, and you’re having a tooth removed. If someone in the other room tripped the circuit with some water spraying out of the sink onto a powerpoint, and the entire facility’s power shut down… Well, your procedure will need to be paused, and that could have some pretty bad and painful consequences! There are tonnes of other examples, but the short of it is that they’re to keep you and the expensive equipment safe.

The standard specifies 80 points that electrical work in medical facilities must comply with, when an electrician is installing new, altering, making additions, as well as repairs. In addition, routine testing must take place every 12 months by a qualified assessor. We’re definitely not going to go over the 80 points today, but there are some highlights:

  • Each room needs to be on a dedicated circuit.
  • RCD should be located at each bedhead if applicable. If it trips, it can be located easily.
  • An RCD should be also located in each ensuite if applicable.
  • RCD’s in any room should only protect socket outlets in the one room.
  • 2 Meter Rule: Any GPO located within 2 meters of a body protected area that is easily accessible are to be RCD protected.
  • GPO’s located over 2.3 meters high may be protected by a sub-circuit. Usually anything at this height is intended for permanently mounted plug-in equipment. If it is medical equipment however, it will need to be protected.
  • A GPO can be installed for use by a cleaner. It can be located within 15m of a body-protected area, and can be located in a corridor. It is beige in colour.
  • A green area ‘Body Protected Electrical Area’ sign must be installed to a height of 2 meters on a wall and be easily visible in the area.