7 Design Tips for Your Practice Waiting Room
Not many people are excited to visit a dentist. Quite a few of them even go through anxiety, thinking about the discomfort they would experience there. It, therefore, becomes important for dentists to find ways to reduce this anxiety as much as possible by having office spaces with a calming ambience.
When it comes to dental fitouts office design, much of the attention is on the surgery rooms themselves. However, the waiting room is equally important, since every patient is going to spend some of their time there. The waiting room provides you with an opportunity to calm your patients’ nerves and heighten their experience before their appointment begins. This makes it essential to design this room keeping the patient comfort in mind.
Through this guide, we aim to provide you with some tips for designing a comfortable and efficient waiting room for your visitors.
What to Consider Whilst Designing Your Waiting Room
There are several factors that you should consider before beginning the design process. Here are a few thoughts that will help you stay on the right path when you brainstorm ideas.
- Your Waiting Room is Your First Impression
The waiting room is where patients will spend the first several minutes of their appointment. It is important to put your best foot forward. It will set the course for the rest of the visit, so design a space that makes a good first impression.
- It Mustn’t Be Expensive
While designing a good waiting room is important, you need not spend a fortune on it. It is important to remember that the focus is on a space that offers your patients comfort and a moment of peace before their appointment. It will be more sensible to spend within your budget.
- Prioritise Patient’s Needs
The most important thing to focus on whilst designing the waiting room for your practice is your patients’ needs. Here functionality and space are the most vital aspects. You need not go for anything complex, as all they may need is not to feel cramped and uncomfortable during their visit.
You can begin the designing process by brainstorming a general idea of what you want the room to look like. This can be followed by thinking of specific ideas that will help your new waiting room come to life.
7 Design Ideas for Your Waiting Room
There are multiple design options better dental practice layout that you can go with for your practice’s waiting room. It all depends on the experience you want to create for your patients. Here are a few tips that will guide you to create a well-thought-of waiting room:
1. Consider Buying New Furniture
The furniture is probably the first thing they are going to interact with in your waiting room. It’s a pretty important aspect as far patients’ comfort is concerned. This makes updated furniture one of the primary purchases. It also helps in making the entire space feel more contemporary and trendy, giving a cleaner and more appealing look.
2. Go for a More Convenient Layout
You should be looking to create a design that puts your patients’ convenience first. This makes the layout an essential aspect of your overall design. You will want to make sure that each patient gets enough space to sit and room to walk through the area comfortably. The layout you choose should give clear access to the reception and examination rooms as well.
3. Make Your Waiting Area Active
When you provide an activity to your patients, you make their perceived wait time shorter. For instance, you should consider providing free Wi-fi. Also, if the space permits, you can consider arranging workstations with desks and chargers. It is particularly valuable since your patients might be missing work to visit you. This will help them be productive and show that you value their time. Books, magazines and certain games for kids are also worth considering.
4. Using Technologies can be Advantageous
You can make good use of technology in your waiting room. Many of your visitors will appreciate a digital board that shows how much time each patient needs to wait. You can consider implementing a text messaging system as well.
5. Consider Adding Small Luxuries
While the waiting room need not be luxurious in itself, adding a few minor luxuries can enhance your patient’s experience. A mini-fridge with free water, for instance, will give your patients something to look forward to after their appointments. You can also consider including items such as iPads tethered to furniture and massage chairs to add to the comfort of your patients.
6. Add Some Colour
You can make the space more inviting and attractive by creating a colour scheme that brightens up the place. You can select paint, carpets, artwork and upholstery that fit within this scheme. This will ensure some continuity in the office space.
7. Implement the Right Lighting
You need to implement the right lighting in your waiting room to create the right mood. You don’t want to create a depressing environment by creating a dark waiting room. Try to make the best possible use of natural lighting, as it acts as a mood booster. With this, you can also avoid the sterile environment that overhead fluorescent lighting creates.
Contact Us for Expert Assistance
These tips will certainly help you get the most from your dental practice layout office waiting room. However, you’ll probably need an expert’s assistance to create a waiting space that meets the needs of your patients as well as yours.
We at Dental Surgery Refurbishment are dental surgery specialists and provide top-notch dental practice design, refurbishing and fit out solutions in London and nearby areas. Our team of experts will help you find the best solution, be it for your entire dental practice or just a particular area such as the waiting room. Contact us today and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible.