Your perspectives on whether design can help improve our nation's health

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Overview
Your perspectives on this issue

Addressing: Design Innovation in Public Services

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The Big Questions

- How can designers develop new systems to support existing health services that don’t require more funding?

- Not all patients are willing or able to openly discuss their conditions – how can designers access harder to reach groups?

- What are the different approaches designers might employ when working with patients suffering from short-term complaints compared to those with chronic conditions?

- With health professionals under increasing pressure, is co-creation a realistic method for tackling the problems of health care provision?

Alan Johnson MP

Secretary of State for Health

'Although the chances of acquiring a healthcare associated infection are relatively low, when a patient does it is extremely distressing for them, their family and the NHS staff treating them. Infection is also costly. On average, it adds three to ten days onto a patient’s length of stay in hospital, and for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) that stay will be even longer. Financially it can cost between £4,000 and £10,000 more to treat a patient with an infection' ... 'What we need to do is equip the NHS with the tools it needs to take on the problem of healthcare associated infections and win.'

Nick Morton

former Design Council project leader

The normal model for public services is that they are provided, managed and maintained by public bodies. Activmobs turns this model on its head, with activities being instigated by individuals and supported by the council - this requires a completely different way of thinking.

Peter Carter

Sexual health expert and producer of DaSH

We know services are struggling to see everyone who needs them, they can’t cope with demand but there is still a very high level of care out there. The sexual marketplace is changing, people are leaving it later to settle down, so there is more partner change and a lot more people are sexually active and services just can’t cope.