Some of the UK’s top designers and manufacturers have been selected to redesign furniture and equipment for NHS hospitals to help in the fight against MRSA and other healthcare associated infections (HCAI’s).
The Design Council and the Design Business Association launched a nationwide search in September for teams of designers and manufacturers to redesign furniture and equipment to make them easier to keep clean, and so help reduce patients’ exposure to HCAIs.
'Patients expect hospitals to be clean, functional and comfortable. Design Bugs Out challenges the UK's design and manufacturing community to come up with new ideas to meet all of these objectives. Furniture and equipment that are easy to clean, will help to reduce healthcare associated infections as well as improving the overall patient experience.'
Thirty-seven designer/manufacturer teams applied, setting out how they would tackle a range of specific design challenges, including redesigning patients’ bedside chairs & lockers, commodes and porters’ chairs.
The submissions were judged by a panel of the UKs most respected experts in the fields of design, healthcare, microbiology, nursing and patient care including designers Richard Seymour (chair of panel) and Tom Dixon OBE, Professor Brian Duerden CBE (Inspector of Microbiology & Infection Control, Department of Health) and Susan Osborne CBE (Chief Nurse, NHS East of England).
The winning design teams include top designers and manufacturers responsible for iconic designs such as Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class airline seats, Herman Miller chairs and Parker Pens.
This furniture must be easy to clean and maintain, cost effective and sustainable. There are three winning teams in this category, and their chosen projects are:
Patient locker/cabinet
Design consultancy Kinneir Dufort, which has designed medical and healthcare products as well as cookware, computer accessories and telephones, have joined forces with manufacturer Bristol Maid, hospital metal furniture specialists.
Patient bedside chair
Design consultancy PearsonLloyd, which designed Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class seats, will work with healthcare seating manufacturer Kirton Healthcare.
Patient locker/cabinet
Design consultancy Hollington, which is responsible for design classics including the Parker Pen, partners manufacturer Herman Miller, of Aeron chair fame.
These portable toilets, typically wheeled to a patient’s bedside, need to be easy-to-clean and easier-to-use and maintain.
The winning team is design consultancy PearsonLloyd, which has won awards for its domestic and contract furniture designs. It will work on this project with healthcare seating specialist Kirton Healthcare.
A porter’s chair needs to be easy to clean and maintain, which will help reduce the potential for the spread of HCAIs between hospital areas.
The winning team is design consultancy Minima, which has worked on consumer products for Olympus and BT and medical products with GlaxoSmithKiline. They will partner manufacturer Vernacare, specialists in infection control.
“This is probably the most important thing these designers will do this year – or perhaps in their entire career. It’s a unique opportunity to genuinely affect lives and to leave a lasting legacy, which will continue to help protect people’s health for years to come. I am tremendously excited by the calibre of these finalists, and I am looking forward to seeing the product of their creativity and talent. Britain needs more projects like this.”
In another strand of the Design Bugs Out project the Design Council is working with a team of specialists in healthcare-related design from the Royal College of Arts Helen Hamlyn Centre. This part of the project will develop new designs for everyday items used by patients, nurses and housekeeping staff, such as mattresses and blood pressure cuffs. Again, these designs aim to help reduce HCAIs by positively influencing behaviour which reduces their transmission or further improving cleaning practices.
“This is a terrific illustration of how the power of design is helping to improve public services by finding innovative new ways to tackle challenging issues. The Design Council is excited to be working with the National Health Service to run this nationally important programme, which I believe will make a great contribution to tackling healthcare associated infections.”
The Design Council was appointed to run the competition by NHS Purchasing And Supply Agency (NHS PASA) as part of its wide-ranging programme to identify and fast-track the implementation of new technologies and design-led innovations in the fight against Healthcare Associated Infections.