A Comparative Study on Technical Standards for the Design of Emergency Medical Facilities in China in the Context of COVID-19

The technical standards for the design and construction of emergency medical facilities play an important role in guiding the conversion of Fangcang shelter hospitals and the construction of emergency infectious disease hospitals and temporary facilities for medical quarantine and observation. However, due to the imperfections and superficialness of the current version of the existing technical standards, further improvement and optimization on the maturity and systematism are necessary. This paper presents an in-depth analysis and comparison on the detailed regulations and terms between the existing 11 sets of technical standards issued by the National Health Commission (NHC) and the provincial competent authorities of Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong and Beijing. The similarities, disparities and deficiencies of these technical standards are summarized. Then, the primary contents, including the site selection and architectural design, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), structural design, electricity intelligence, water supply and drainage, operation and maintenance, environmental health and safety, and fire protection, are analyzed in-depth from the view of infectious disease control and health safety. Furthermore, some critical principles related to the detailed terms of the architectural design, HVAC, electricity and water supply are concluded. Finally, some essential suggestions are proposed for the improvement and revision of these technical standards for better applications.