The Implementation of Single Occupancy Rooms: A new standard for NHS hospitals. Pathway to efficiency or barrier to quality care? Part 1 Dissertation 2025 Thomas Muncey University of Strathclyde | UK This dissertation is derived from my personal experience working in the A&E of an NHS hospital. As an architecture student passionate about the wellbeing of both patient and staff, I was inspired to reimagine how hospital design can better support healthcare delivery. This research focuses on one of the most significant, and contentious, shifts in the UK’s healthcare infrastructure: the transition to single occupancy rooms in newly built hospitals.Using the lenses of infection control, patient and staff wellbeing, and operational efficiency, I combined insights from literature with interviews conducted with senior NHS management involved in new hospital projects. The aim was to capture a balanced view and assess whether this model can meet the unique demands of the NHS.Findings illustrate how single rooms can enhance healing environments, protect privacy, preserve dignity and ultimately reduce hospital-acquired infections – benefits particularly relevant in a post-COVID climate. These improvements carry their own costs: a potential to increase staff workloads and reduced patient visibility. The consensus concludes with the recommendation of a ‘Hybrid’ approach, combining single and multi-bed wards to suit demographic and clinical specialty and the integration of technology to address visibility and staffing challenges while maintaining quality of care. Tutor(s) Tim Sharpe