Step-by-step build

Building a vertigo clinic is not the same as buying the equipment for one. The clinic is the workflow that lives in the building — and that workflow depends on decisions made before any kit is ordered.

The phases are Plan → Build the room → Equip → Staff → Launch. Each phase has its own deadline pressure. Get the sequence wrong and the clinic opens with kit it can't use, or staff it can't pay.

The five-phase model below is a synthesis of European and US service-redesign reports.1 The 36-week target is realistic for a starter clinic embedded within an existing ENT or neurology service. A standalone build (own lease, own license) typically takes 50–60 weeks because of regulatory and procurement timelines.

The audiometric booth is the longest-lead capital item; order it early. The VNG and vHIT vendors typically deliver in 8–12 weeks once the purchase order is raised, but installation and calibration on site adds a further 2–4 weeks per system.

The build sequence reflects two operational constraints. First, you cannot validate the workflow without patients, so the launch must happen before all kit is in place — soft-launch when the consult room, Frenzel goggles and audiometric booth are functional, then layer instrumented testing.2 Second, the vestibular rehab pathway must exist on day one. CPG-grade rehab is the single highest-evidence intervention in the clinic;3 opening without the physio path forces inappropriate vestibular suppressant prescriptions and erodes referrer trust.