A large scale survey of the acoustic conditions in hospital wards, together with patient and staff opinions of their acoustic environment, has been undertaken. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive noise survey of five general inpatient wards in two major hospitals. The survey involved monitoring of noise levels and identification of noise sources in 25 locations representing a range of typical patient accommodation, from single rooms to multi-bed bays of various sizes. The results enable those factors which affect the noise levels in hospitals to be investigated and recommendations to be made regarding ward and equipment design which could contribute to a reduction in noise levels.
展开▼
