In the dynamic and highly regulated world of healthcare, designing and building efficient, safe, and functional facilities is a complex challenge. Every room must be tailored to its specific clinical function, while simultaneously aligning with codes, standards, and operational workflows.
To achieve consistency and quality across diverse spaces, standardized components play a vital role in healthcare facility planning.
Two of the most critical tools used in this standardization process are the Room Data Sheet (RDS) and the Room Layout Sheet (RLS).
These documents provide detailed information and visual representations of each room in a healthcare facility, ensuring that all stakeholders—from architects and engineers to clinicians and contractors—have a shared understanding of the design intent and technical requirements.
- Room Data Sheets (RDS) are structured documents that describe the functional and technical details of individual rooms, such as finishes, fixtures, fittings, and environmental conditions.
- Room Layout Sheets (RLS) are scaled drawings that illustrate the physical layout of rooms, showing the arrangement of equipment, furniture, and essential services.
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1) Standard Components
The FPU (Functional Planning Unit) Schedule by RDL (Room Data List) includes listings of Standard Room Types required. In order to assist designers to better understand the requirements of each room type, the India Health Facility Guidelines includes a comprehensive set of Standard Components.
These Standard Components are represented by two sets of documents:
Room data sheets (RDS)
These are written descriptions of each room type, described under various categories:
- Room Primary Information; includes Briefed Area, Occupancy, Room Description and relationships, and special room requirements)
- Building Fabric and Finishes; identifies the fabric and finish required for the room ceiling, floor, walls, doors, and glazing requirements
- Furniture and Fittings; lists all the fittings and furniture typically located in the room
- Fixtures and Equipment; includes all the serviced equipment typically located in the room along with the services required such as power, data, hydraulics
- Building Services; indicates the requirement for communications, power, Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC), medical gases, nurse/ emergency call and lighting along with quantities and types as relevant
The Room Data Sheets (RDS’s) represent the detailed briefing requirements of each room type. Some RDS’s provide options for certain elements such as materials.
If an external document refers to these RDS’s, without qualifying the choice of options, then the default options will prevail. In case of any discrepancy between various documents, the RDS’s will take precedence.
Where materials or elements are mentioned by generic type (eg Vinyl), the requirements may be satisfied by other materials and elements which have very similar properties (eg impervious sheet flooring).
Room layout sheets (RLS)
These are individual sheets incorporating typical design of rooms at 1:50 scale with abbreviations, dimensions etc. Each Room Layout Sheet includes a Plan as well as 4 or more elevations showing the installation height of elements.
Note: These Room Layouts are indicative plan layouts and elevations illustrating an example of minimum acceptable design standard. The Room Layouts shown are deemed to satisfy these Guidelines.
Alternative layouts and innovative planning shall be deemed to comply with these Guidelines provided that the following criteria are met:
- Compliance with the text of these Guidelines
- Minimum floor areas as shown in the schedule of accommodation
- Additional 2 M2 added for each additional door above the minimum required area
- Heights and dimensions where shown
- Any Clean/ Dirty separations shown or implied
- Accessibility to and around various objects as shown or implied
Room Layout Sheets must indicate relative location and empirical dimensions of:
- Hand rails and Grab rails
- Call points, Power, Light Switch, Data and Gas outlets
- Bed Screens
- Sanitary Fixtures