Thursday 8th February
Improving the design of waiting room spaces in our healthcare estate.
There has been a lot of media coverage on the waiting times as the NHS struggles to cope with the surge in patients being seen over the Christmas period. The vast majority of us will at some time in the next six months be waiting, as a patient or visitor, in a hospital, GP practice, dentist or clinic.
Many waiting spaces provided may not have been originally designed for this purpose and are just adapted corridors or work areas. A study by the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian found that many waiting rooms were characterised by rolling news or "muzak", a clutter of leaflets and posters, tatty out of date celebrity and scandal magazines and lists of "dos and don'ts on the walls leading to an unwelcome tone.
Come and join us as our experts explore how these spaces can be suitably designed and discuss:
- What makes a good waiting room space?
- How can we provide privacy and dignity?
- How can we effectively deal with communication between patient/visitor and staff?
- How do we design spaces for children?
- What does the future hold with the advancement in IT and virtual care?
Speakers
Hunters
Tim Ashton
Hunters
Joining Hunters in 1997, Tim was made a Board Director in 2007. Specialising in the masterplanning, design and development of complex healthcare projects within the public and private sectors.
His projects include acute healthcare, mental health, primary care and specialist neurological care facilities.
He is at the helm of driving forward the practice’s sustainability agenda. Hunters hold an independently audited Environmental Management System, BS EN ISO4001 since 2010 and Tim’s continued interest in sustainable design is now being embraced across the practice, on all schemes and for all clients.
Tim is leading Hunters’ participation on several NHS Frameworks in addition to work for private healthcare clients.
Anke De Masi
Homerton University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Anke graduated in Medicine from Free University in Berlin in 1997.
In her early career she worked in Botswana and developed a strong interest in HIV medicine.
After returning to Berlin she completed a Master’s in Public Health at Technical University in Berlin.
She moved to London in 2003 and joined the Homerton University Hospital.
She specialized in HIV, Sexual Health as well as assessment and laser treatment of precancerous genital lesions.
When the HIV and Sexual Health department at Homerton underwent a refurbishment and upgrading in 2010 she was heavily involved in the development and the design choices from the departmental site and worked closely with Hunters.
After successfully winning the recent contract under the London Sexual Health Transformation project for Hackney and the City, the department is developing a new Sexual Health Clinic in the City of London.