Life cycle sustainability assessment of primary healthcare centres in Bahrain: a policy framework for sustainable healthcare infrastructure

Primary healthcare centres are crucial in safeguarding well-being and preserving lives. However, their round-the-clock functioning has an ecological impact, through substantial energy consumption and the production of detrimental waste. This research applies a cradle-to-grave life cycle sustainability assessment approach to evaluate the environmental, economic and social life cycles of eight Bahraini primary healthcare centres. The average score of the buildings is 8.28, with 11.24 as the highest score, and 3.2 as the lowest. Higher scores indicate a better balance in trade-offs and synergies among sustainability dimensions. Results reveal that high energy usage and inadequate management and training contribute to the poor sustainability performance of the centres. A policy framework is proposed to guide stakeholders and policymakers in developing sustainable primary healthcare centres. This research contributes to literature on sustainable healthcare by presenting empirical evidence of the current situation and a practical policy framework to achieve sustainability within Bahrain's healthcare industry.