The latest healthcare facilities are addressing the psychological as well as the clinical needs of patients

Imagine hospital gowns that don’t gape, privacy from other patients especially those of the opposite sex, and a little dignity when it comes to going to the toilet. For most hospital patients, this is still a distant dream rather than a reality. Research may suggest that the more comfortable and happy the patient is in their surroundings, the faster they recover, but with NHS budgets so tight and with so much emphasis on infection control, it’s not surprising that patient dignity and emotional well-being is seldom high up the design agenda.

This could, however, get a welcome boost through the Design Council’s new Design for Patient Dignity scheme, which has just given five design teams £25,000 to develop new approaches to facilitating patient dignity. Prototypes are completed this month.

Jane Priestman, who is chairing the project’s advisory panel, says the area greatly needs the special focus that the Design Council project can bring, as it previously did to the rather more tangible Design Bugs Out infection-control project.

‘This is a bit more tenuous. It needs a bit more thinking. And that’s good,’ she says.

Even within NHS budgets and before the outcome of the patient dignity project, there are plenty of designers who are managing to create pleasant environments conducive to emotional wellbeing, not just for the patients, but for friends and family too, such as at the West Wales General Hospital mortuary.

Nurturing healthcare environments are far easier to achieve with an injection of extra funds combined with an enlightened approach, as the Teenage Cancer Trust has shown in its programme of new facilities for young cancer sufferers, which successfully address both clinical and emotional needs. A report launched in November on the impact of the units’ design found that the units helped to facilitate a more ‘normal’ environment that helped patients feel more stimulated, connected, and in control.

Meanwhile, the Maggie’s Centre support units for people with cancer has also drawn greater attention to the way that a well designed environment can support those having cancer treatment.

The newest centre, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, won the prestigious £20,000 Stirling Prize.

It’s clear that design certainly does have the power to make a big difference to emotional wellbeing, even if it is something as seemingly basic as making sure there are windows that patients can open, and are big enough to see much out of when lying down.