Developing the design principles to build better hospitals

The challenge

Two years on from our original project with Imperial College Healthcare, we are working with them again to delve deeper into aspirational elements of hospital design and hospital visits.

Our task was to deliver a set of clear and practical design principles that are based on the real views and needs of people in the area.

We researched what needed to be incorporated into the design of new hospitals, in particular what mattered to people for hospital visits. We produced a clear, straightforward set of design principles that will be used to support decision making during the Trust’s hospital redevelopment programme, including new hospital design and on-going refurbishment and improvements from 2023.

Our approach

We reviewed a range of sources provided by the Trust as well as analysing some relevant external documents sourced through known networks and independent research. We contacted a number of experts in this field, to hear their perspectives on the design needs of a new hospital, and to source external data where it was relevant. We mapped the specific characteristics of the people whose voices and perspectives were present in the data. We reviewed a total of 68 different data sources in this review phase.

Inclusion and representation was, and is, hugely important to the Trust. A priority strategy area for 2021-2023 is “a stronger user focus to everything we do”. This has placed an emphasis on engaging with many local communities and critically evaluating the voices represented in the conversation. So our review included a thorough assessment of the range of voices in the data, and highlighted where the voices of any groups were missing.

Results

Around 50 themes were identified through the analysis process. We consolidated these to develop a set of eight design principles for hospital visits.

Each design principle is accompanied by a set of ‘design considerations’ – to give specific and practical guidance about how the principle could be achieved.

The principles and design considerations were tested and co-produced through a series of workshops with key stakeholders.

The eight design principles for hospital visits

• Principle 1: Our hospitals will promote safe, secure and dignified care, in secure surroundings
• Principle 2: Our hospitals will be accessible for everyone
• Principle 3: Our hospitals will be welcoming, calming and comfortable
• Principle 4: Our hospitals will be easy to get into and get around
• Principle 5: Our hospital design will support a positive experience for people waiting in the hospital
• Principle 6: Our hospitals will have protected comfortable spaces for staff
• Principle 7: Our hospitals will reflect our history and support local communities
• Principle 8: Our hospitals will be environmentally friendly

The design principles are grounded in a wealth of user perspectives, gathered through work undertaken by the Trust and from external literature sources. Between our external literature review, our internal literature review, and the detailed exploration of missing voices, the design principles are both evidence-based and representative of most groups of hospital users.

The hospital redevelopment programme will use these design principles to balance priorities and make design decisions that reflect the needs of Imperial’s communities.