Participatory Design Fit for the 21st Century Improving the Design of an Emergency Department in a UK Hospital

Design has enormous potential to affect people’s health and wellbeing. One way to improve staff and patient experiences of healthcare services and environments is to use participatory, or co-design approaches. However, the issue is that participatory design projects are often described as taking place in “greenhouse settings”, shielded from the time constraints of everyday work, where workers are given time off their everyday duties to participate in design improvement projects typically in intensive face to face sessions. The challenge therefore, is this: in today’s economic climate with the time and financial pressures facing healthcare staff in a busy, stressful environment, how can staff and patients be engaged in extended participatory design improvement projects at the minimum cost but with the maximum benefit? This paper describes a yearlong participatory design research exercise which is underway to improve the physical environment of a busy UK hospital Emergency Department