Many hospitals in which I have worked have struggled with finances over the last 5 years. There has often been a ban on capital investment on new physical infrastructure projects even extended to repairs in some circumstances. Only spending on direct patient care was permitted. However, divorcing the environment from care is fundamentally flawed. The physical environment has been shown to influence not only behavior, but also physical and mental well-being. One hospital in which I have worked has a large, bowl-like commercial area filled with shops, staff, patients, and the occasional pigeon. Access from this bustling area to the entirety of the hospital is via a single, narrow, small corridor. At the start of this corridor is of course a steep flight of stairs. After this first obstacle, the thin corridor continues with multiple sharp exits on both the right and left-hand sides. Patients with walking frames, sticks, and wheelchairs bump into staff rushing to clinics, wards, and meetings. People stop suddenly mid-stride as they look for directions on the walls. They zig-zag across the corridor, in and out of doors.

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