Art in hospitals is much more than decoration. A growing body of research shows that it can make a measurable difference to patient outcomes, staff wellbeing, and the overall healthcare experience.
I was asked to review the waiting areas at the Oxford Eye Hospital and evaluate how improvements can be made to the clinical spaces which benefit both staff and patients. I first removed all the visual clutter that included home made laminated signs, empty patient leaflet holders and a vast number of empty white boards. Then following an existing colour scheme I designed a simple system using large format arrows and bold, high contrast illustrations in the waiting areas with new colour coordinated seating so visitors can identify where they need to go and when they reach their designation.
The design of the artwork was inspired by the work of Lotte Reiniger. The use of silhouettes and bold colours were perfect for our patient cohort and fitted in with the existing colour scheme . The high contrast design with simple shapes using the visual style of paper cut outs.
To make the space more approachable for our paediatric patients character illustrations were created by Sarah Lacey and positioned around the hospital for the children to discover. These beautiful illustrations also featured in an activity sheet which is handed out when the patients arrive and include ophthalmic related games.
To have free rein to change the whole of the interior of the hospital was been an amazing, if not slightly daunting experience and the feedback from patients and staff has been very positive.
Laminated signs, posters and white boards have now been outlawed! It was the accumulation of this visual clutter over the years that was the cause of many problems as it created a chaotic environment and gave the impression of a disorganised department.
Removing all the clutter reduced the noise levels in the waiting areas creating a calmer environment. Staff moral has improved and there is a sense of being proud of their workplace which will reflect on the care and interactions with the patients and hopefully increase staff retention.
A huge thanks to Oxford Hospital Charity who funded the project and for all the help and advice from Ruth Charity at Artlink. I couldn’t have completed the project Without Ruth’s assistance, a true NHS hero!
Please see the before and after examples on the pages below.
The more I looked at the space, the more things I noticed that needed changing. There were so many details that I wanted to change to work with my new wayfinding system The only way to explain to people where artwork was going and where the new signage was going to be positioned was to create a master plan. This proved to be invaluable with contractors and the signage installation team all working from a large A0 print which was mounted on the wall in my office.