Abstract

Urban planners, health planners, architects, developers and manufacturers can all contribute to the transformation of health spaces but, too frequently, opportunities for improvement are missed, either through their exclusion from the delivery team or by involving them too late in the design process.

The aim should be to improve health outcomes, social cohesion and health inequalities, supporting people to be more independent and remain part of a healthy community, rather than spiralling into illness and repeated stays in hospital.

Objectives: Designing to promote wellness and prevent illness has a greater chance of success if we work with like-minded professionals to co-design future environments. This paper will share experiences that demonstrate the benefits of expanding the traditional design team to include a wider spectrum of designers, in developing integrated care solutions fit for today’s demands and tomorrow’s technologies.

Methodology and results: We will review the outcomes of successful partnerships and processes that are shaping environments for healthier communities, and touch on lessons learnt.

We will showcase examples of collaborative working at different project stages and at differing scales of design, including:

• urban planning and clinical planning: exploring the relationship between designing communities and neighbourhoods for healthy and sustainable development;
• health planning and architectural design: new ways of working and innovative clinical models using telephone triage and remote diagnosis, supported by investment in IT infrastructure;
• architects, developers and commissioners: responding to future demands by fully embracing flexibility: practical cross-project investment and co-authoring of community / health initiatives, and adoption of generic space;
• architects and manufacturers: improved products with fit-for-purpose healthcare specifications that don’t look institutional.

Conclusions: NHS England’s vision for the future is shared by designers involved in shaping healthier environments. By blurring outmoded professional boundaries, working in more integrated teams, focusing on effective solutions, and sharing resources and ideas, we can all contribute more effectively.