The Operating Theatre Journal - Flipbook - Page 10
New hospital theatre reception set to transform
experience for children
“The new environment includes welcome distractions and, we hope,
moments of joy for those visiting. This is important on both an
emotional and clinical level. A more empathic environment will lead
to less anxiety, greater satisfaction, less emergence delirium, fewer
post-op side effects such as nausea and vomiting and a reduction in the
need for pain relief.
“We are all deeply grateful for the support of the public, businesses,
and Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity for making our vision reality.”
Graven’s lead designer, Renee Chater, said: “One of the spaces is a
small, very ordinary meeting room. The brief would seem simple but
when asked the right questions it became clear that the spaces had
numerous jobs, from consoling distressed parents to team meetings and
staff interviews.
©Renzo Mazzolini Photography
A transformative project at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow is
set to bene昀椀t more than 10,000 children who require treatment at the
hospital’s operating theatres each year.
“We took all of this into account when redesigning the space and
created something that is rich and uplifting - using colour, texture and
commissioned illustrations from Mark Faulkner.
In an innovative collaboration between the hospital and design studio
Graven, the project is resetting traditional clinical design standards in
paediatric care.
The design team, led by Ross Hunter of Graven, has been working in
close collaboration with consultant anaesthetist Dr Alyson Walker and
a wide range of stakeholders including patients, families, surgeons,
nurses, and porters.
Dr Walker initiated the project 昀椀ve years ago and engaged with Graven
in 2021. The project has been funded through the remarkable efforts of
the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and many dedicated businesses
and fundraisers.
Explaining the vision for the project, Dr Walker, said: “For children,
parents, and caregivers, visiting an operating theatre can be a daunting
experience, whether it’s for a dental procedure or brain surgery. The
stories that children and families share about their experiences in the
theatre last a lifetime, so we want to make the experience as positive
as possible.
“Hospital design has improved greatly in recent decades, however
patients still 昀椀nd some clinical areas intimidating. I have been fortunate
to be able to visit several centres of excellence around the world and
have found this to be the case, even in relatively new buildings.
“The project team set out to re-cast the journey patients make from
our Theatre Reception to the Anaesthetic Room. The overall aim is
to create a much friendlier environment, that is less traditionally
clinical and therefore much more welcoming for young people and their
families.
“Our Theatre Improvement Project set out to transform our theatre
environment into one 昀椀lled with empathy so that children, their
families, and staff feel calmer and more welcomed.
©Renzo Mazzolini Photography
“In the reception area we re-orientated the key elements to create a
less stressful 昀氀ow to the space. The reception desk is a welcoming focal
point. It is colourful and playful, low and approachable and nice to
touch. The options for sitting and talking are numerous.
“This is a space that must work for toddlers as well as teens, so we have
created some idiosyncratic choices as well as booths and a ‘bus stop’.
“Illustrator Laura Darling was commissioned to draw the patient
journey from City to the Countryside. The resulting work is crammed
full of memorable stories and references shared by former patients,
staff, and supporters.
The illustrations, on a huge scale, span the journey from reception
through the corridors presenting a narrative of unlikely creatures that
accompany patients on their journeys around the hospital.”
Ross Hunter, director of Graven, added: “We’re delighted with the
result – it’s energetic, and optimistic. It’s playful without being overtly
childish. And it is deeply satisfying to see people interacting with
design in a way that could never have happened before.
“Our project process, which draws from Service Design principles, was
determined to engage with users at all levels so the result could be a
sequence of spaces and experiences that really express care.
“There were workshops, conversations, mock-ups, models, visuals,
questions and questionnaires. The project undoubtedly bene昀椀ted from
this intensity of involvement.
“There are positive lessons emerging form this project not just for
Heath and Care sector projects, but any project where organisational
hugeness threatens people centric decision-making.”
©Renzo Mazzolini Photography
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Source: Scottish Construction Now
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