Flooring for Hospitals
Hospital Flooring Solutions in Australia
Durable, hygienic, and compliant flooring designed for every hospital space.
Flooring Designed for the Demands of Modern Healthcare
Hospitals are complex environments where each space has its own requirements. From sterile operating theatres to busy corridors and welcoming waiting rooms, flooring must support infection control, safety, durability, and patient comfort. Selecting the right solutions helps hospitals meet Australian Health Facility Guidelines (AusHFG), AS 4586 slip resistance standards, and sustainability targets set by Green Building Council Australia (GBCA).
This guide outlines the key considerations when specifying flooring for hospitals.
Considerations for hospital flooring:
- Infection control: Seamless, easy-to-clean surfaces that reduce bacterial growth and support coving at wall junctions.
- Safety & slip resistance: Essential for corridors, wet rooms, and patient care areas.
- Comfort & acoustics: quiet, resilient flooring to reduce stress for patients and staff.
- Compliance: flooring tested against Australian healthcare standards for fire, slip, and hygiene.
- Sustainability: Hospitals increasingly seek products with low VOC emissions, third-party certifications (GECA, Best Practice PVC, Declare), and Green Star credits.
Planning a Hospital Project?
Our team can support you with compliant product guidance and samples to your project requirements.
Flooring Solutions Applications Across the Hospital
Flooring for wards & patient rooms
Flooring should be durable, easy-to-clean flooring that balances hygiene and acoustic comfort.
Recommended flooring
- Sphera homogeneous vinyl – Seamless and hygienic; ideal for patient rooms and treatment areas.
- Marmoleum – Natural linoleum, sustainable, and hygienic; suitable for hospitals seeking eco-friendly options.
- Eternal heterogeneus vinyl – Seamless, hygienic, flexible designs for corridors, patient rooms.
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Flooring for corridors & waiting areas
Flooring in corridors and waiting areas should be able to handle high traffic and rolling loads, be easy to maintain, and colour options should support wayfinding and zoning. Fast flooring options reduce downtime in refurbishments.
Recommended flooring:
- Sphera homogeneous vinyl – Seamless and hygienic.
- Marmoleum – Natural linoleum, sustainable, and hygienic; suitable for hospitals seeking eco-friendly options.
- Eternal heterogeneus vinyl – Seamless, hygienic, flexible designs for corridors.
- Modul'up compact adhesive free vinyl – Fast flooring that reduces downtime in refurbishments, can be laid over existing floor coverings, offering the solution for hospital renovation flooring without closure
Flooring for hospital bathrooms & toilet facilities
Bathrooms, en-suites, patient showers, and other wet zones require slip-resistant flooring that can withstand constant moisture and frequent cleaning from the floor to the wall.
Recommended flooring and wall system:
- Surestep Laguna – Safety vinyl with barefoot B rating meets requirements of AS 4586 guidelines for en-suites.
- Onyx+ wall vinyl – wall covering choice for bathroom and showers
.webp "Surestep balance in healthcare flooring | Wall and flooring solution for hospital patient en suite and toilet areas warm earth")
Commercial kitchen flooring for hospitals
The best flooring for hospital commercial kitchens is a heavy-duty, slip-resistant vinyl safety floor designed for wet environments. It should meet local slip resistance standards of an R12 slip rating.
Recommended flooring:
- Safestep R12 – Safety vinyl with an R12 ramp slip rating meets requirements of AS 4586 guidelines for commercial kitchens.
Conductive flooring for operating theatres & clinical areas
Operating theatres, ICUs, labs and diagnostic imaging rooms require flooring that balances hygiene, static control, and patient comfort.
Before selecting a floor covering, it’s important to confirm whether the project brief specifies that these areas require the floor to be earthed. A fully conductive flooring system like our Sphera EC/SD and Colorex EC/SD is required if the floor must actively discharge static electricity to ground. If not, an antistatic floor is often sufficient to meet the needs of the space. All Forbo flooring solutions are antistatic.
Recommended conductive flooring
- Sphera EC/SD – Homogeneous electrostatic (ESD) control sheet flooring for operating theatres and diagnostic rooms.
- Colorex EC/SD – Homogeneous electrostatic control tile (ESD) flooring for operating theatres and diagnostic rooms.
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Our Hospital project case studies: 7 Items
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Need more inspiration?
If you’d like to see how others have brought their Healthcare projects to life, explore our case studies.
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Working on a Healthcare Specification?
Tell us about your project timeline, application area and performance requirements. Our team will provide recommendations, indicative costs, and lead times to support your specification process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What slip rating is required for healthcare flooring?
Slip requirements vary by area within the Hospital/healthcare facilities, outlined in the National Construction Code (NCC) and HB 197:1999 & HB 198:2014 – Table 3B. For example, in Australia, flooring must comply with AS 4586 Slip resistance classifications.
To learn more, download our guide, loved and praised by professionals! Australian Slip Ratings Explained Blog
What flooring is best for hospital corridors?
Resilient sheet flooring, such as homogeneous or heterogeneous vinyl or natural linoleum with heat-welded seams, is commonly specified for hospital corridors. It provides durability under heavy trolley traffic, supports infection control protocols, and can meet national slip resistance requirements while allowing efficient cleaning.
Is linoleum suitable for hospitals?
Yes, linoleum can be suitable for non-critical hospital areas when installed with welded seams and compliant detailing. It offers durability, ease of maintenance, and long-term performance. Specifications should always consider traffic levels, infection control requirements, and local healthcare standards.