New hospitals, robotisation, clinical research, digital technology... the major projects underway today are already shaping tomorrow's needs.
Building a new hospital is no longer simply about erecting a building.
In Luxembourg, the major projects currently under way reflect a much deeper transformation: that of a healthcare system rethinking its infrastructure, organisation, digital tools, logistics and care pathways all at once.
Conversations with Dr Marc Berna, Director General of the Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, and Dr Martine Goergen, Director General of the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, offer a very concrete picture of this evolution.
INVESTMENTS RESHAPING THE HOSPITAL LANDSCAPE
Across Luxembourg, the country's leading hospitals are preparing for the future.
At the Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, several major projects are already under way: a new outpatient site at Cloche d'Or, a significant extension of the Kirchberg site, followed by a gradual modernisation of infrastructure through to 2038.
At the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, the undertaking is just as ambitious. A new hospital will open at the end of 2029, followed by a second phase dedicated to creating a mother-and-child centre, under a master plan running through to 2040.
This momentum extends well beyond these two institutions. The country's other hospital centres are also carrying out expansion, renovation or reconstruction projects that will permanently transform Luxembourg's healthcare landscape.
THE REAL UNDERTAKING IS ORGANISATIONAL
While buildings are evolving, hospital leaders stress above all the transformation of how they operate.
For Dr Marc Berna, one of the most structuring projects is the creation of a national purchasing and logistics centre, designed to pool the procurement, storage and distribution of medical devices for all of Luxembourg's hospitals.
In time, this platform will rely heavily on digitalisation, automation and robotisation to optimise logistics flows nationwide.
Dr Martine Goergen describes the same evolution within the future CHL: a robotised pharmacy, automation of internal transport, geolocation of biomedical equipment, a new electronic patient record... All projects reflecting a shared conviction: tomorrow's infrastructure will be inseparable from digital technology.
THE HOSPITAL, A CONCENTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY
Future facilities will house equipment that remains rare even at European level.
At CHL, the new hospital will notably include two PET scanners, several latest-generation MRI machines, an operating suite with robotic hybrid rooms, an intraoperative MRI for neurosurgery, and a dedicated laboratory for nuclear medicine drugs.
At the Hôpitaux Robert Schuman, Marc Berna points out that needs now span the entire hospital ecosystem:
- biomedical equipment;
- digital solutions;
- medical devices;
- technical infrastructure;
- robotics;
- building digitalisation.
In other words, these projects involve far more than the construction sector. They mobilise the entire healthcare industry.
EMERGING NEW PROFESSIONS
This evolution is also transforming the skills in demand.
Dr Martine Goergen highlights the growing importance of Digital Health Officers, Project Managers and care managers, as well as biomedical specialists capable of working on equipment that is now heavily interconnected with hospital information systems.
Dr Marc Berna notes that a hospital project now draws on a multitude of expertise: technical engineering, air and water treatment, electricity, biomedical engineering, digital infrastructure and logistics.
RESEARCH, TEACHING AND INNOVATION BECOME INSEPARABLE
The transformation is not limited to buildings.
Luxembourg is also continuing to develop its university and clinical research ecosystem.
CHL is strengthening its partnerships with the University of Luxembourg, supporting the development of medical training programmes and encouraging its doctors to split their time between hospital practice and university work.
Marc Berna also mentions the development of the national clinical research network and the gradual construction of a genuine decentralised university hospital.
WHY FOLLOW THESE PROJECTS FROM NOW ON?
While some contracts have already been awarded, both directors stress that many opportunities are still to come.
In Luxembourg, hospital investments span several years and progressively generate new needs in equipment, services, digital technology, robotisation and organisation.
For Marc Berna, Healthcare Week Luxembourg is precisely the event that allows companies to understand the direction the healthcare system is taking and to anticipate the future needs of institutions.
Martine Goergen, for her part, emphasises the value of networking unique to Luxembourg, where healthcare institutions, authorities, experts, industry players and investors come together in one place to build tomorrow's collaborations.
A TRANSFORMATION THAT IS ONLY JUST BEGINNING
The first buildings will open from 2027, but most of the major projects will unfold through to 2040.
Beyond the construction sites, the entire organisation of care is evolving: hospitals that are more connected, more automated, oriented towards clinical research, staff wellbeing, patient experience and cooperation between institutions.
All of these transformations will make Healthcare Week Luxembourg a key event for understanding the priorities of Luxembourg's healthcare system and meeting those building it every day.
