“In the first few weeks after opening, there was a real race to secure a shift at the Urgent Care Centre Amsterdam-Noord,” says care manager Stéphanie van Heusden of Huisartsenposten Amsterdam (Amsterdam GP Out-of-Hours Service). “That says something about the end result. It’s a really pleasant place to work. Inside, everything exudes calm—even when all the rooms are full. GPs, A&E doctors, medical specialists, emergency nurses, and triage staff work here as one team to provide patients with the best possible urgent care, quickly and efficiently.”
The Urgent Care Centre at BovenIJ Hospital in Amsterdam is a merger of the hospital’s Accident & Emergency (A&E) department and the GP Out-of-Hours Service Noord. Team lead Arthur Kieft notes that a new space has emerged—one people are genuinely proud of. “All healthcare professionals were involved from the visioning stage. It’s a collaborative design, and every decision was made together. That’s proven to be of such added value.”
Integrating two worlds
The A&E department at BovenIJ had already worked closely with the GP Out-of-Hours Service Amsterdam-Noord for years. Kieft explains: “Even though we were used to each other, every discipline has its own way of working—and those don’t always align. With the help of architects from EGM, we arrived at a truly integrated design. EGM played a key role in the layout of the rooms, ensuring they could be used for both primary and hospital care. During the design phase, we used mock-ups to create the most efficient layout possible. Initially, we considered wall-mounted swivel tables—adjustable in height or not? And how would we integrate the computer systems? The final design considered both worlds and combined them, resulting in universal spaces that can be used by any discipline.”
It’s a collaborative design, and every decision was made together. That’s proven to be of such added value.
The right care in the right place
The patient flow was literally walked through, Kieft explains. “How does the patient enter? Who stands where, and how does that translate to the shop floor? Is that what we want, and what would be the ideal scenario? We simulated all of this with the healthcare professionals who work here daily. All the wishes were folded together like an accordion. The result is an urgent care centre where all disciplines work efficiently together, and patients receive the right care, in the right place, from the right professional. Going through all these processes together laid the foundation for what we have now—a success, guided by partners like EGM, who know BovenIJ well.” Van Heusden adds: “Healthcare professionals feel like they’ve built their own urgent care centre. They feel a sense of ownership over the place where they work.”
The advantage of experience
Involving all healthcare professionals through work sessions and workshops—from visioning to every phase of the initiative, programme, and design through to execution—was a deliberate choice, explain Corine van Geffen (director, GP Out-of-Hours Service Amsterdam), Edwin van der Meer (director, BovenIJ Hospital), and Arch Prins (business manager, BovenIJ Facilities). “Working together leads to better outcomes, especially for patient care and job satisfaction. Those remain our key priorities. The knowledge EGM gained from other projects was invaluable. They knew exactly what they were doing, which was a huge advantage in realising our Urgent Care Centre. First, we designed the different zones in broad strokes: what happens where? Then we refined it—what work needs to be done, and what space is required? We separated all the processes only to reassemble them more logically. We were grateful for the expertise and professionalism of specialists like EGM. At one point, we received drawings that clearly showed how it would look in reality. That worked so well—it even allowed us to make adjustments at that stage.”
We were able to make excellent use of the experience and professionalism of specialists like EGM
Calm in a high-pressure environment
According to Van der Meer, the first integrated Urgent Care Centre in Amsterdam-Noord is a great showcase for an integrated approach to urgent care, in line with the Dutch Integrated Care Agreement (IZA). “We need to reorganise processes to ensure urgent care remains accessible, affordable, and of high quality.” Kieft and Van Heusden experience this daily in the new centre, which was designed around these care processes. “There’s space for everyone, yet it’s calm. The chaos stays out of sight; everything flows organically to the examination rooms. That this high-pressure environment feels so peaceful comes down to the combination of the building’s design and layout. When you’re working in life-or-death situations, a calm environment is essential for making the right decisions. And this Urgent Care Centre delivers that.”
Maud van Gennip, copywriter and editor, spoke with BovenIJ in July 2023
Project: BovenIJ Hospital
Portret: BovenIJ
