The Design Council and the Department of Health have launched a national search for design teams to “rethink the design of hospital accident and emergency departments in a bid to develop new ways to reduce violence and aggression towards NHS staff”, estimated to cost at least £69 million annually in staff absence, lost productivity, and additional security.
The year-long Department of Healthcommissioned project, “Reducing violence and aggression in A&E by design” is being run by the Design Council, and will involve designers, architects, healthcare experts, and frontline NHS staff working together to develop and trial potential solutions, working with A&E staff and patients at three NHS hospital Trusts – Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust. The winning design teams will “develop a variety of innovative solutions to give patients, visitors, and staff, a better and safer experience in A&E”. The solutions will include:
• Changes to interior design.
• Improvements to information given to patients and their families.
• Redesigned clinical and nonclinical services and systems.
An NHS staff survey from the Care Quality Commission in 2009 revealed that 11 per cent of staff had experienced physical violence from patients or their families the previous year. Figures from the NHS Security Management Service also show that the number of reported physical assaults against staff is rising across the NHS. In 2009/10 there were over 150 physical assaults per day on healthcare staff. The problem is described as “particularly difficult to handle in the complex, high pressure environment of A&E”. The “Reducing violence and aggression in A&E by design” project follows the success of similar interventions by the Design Council and the NHS to improve patient privacy and dignity, and to reduce MRSA and C. difficile. Teams were recently invited to submit proposals on how they would approach the challenge. The closing date for entries was 4 April, with shortlisted entries to be announced on 18 April. The winning designs will be showcased in October. Chris Howroyd, programme manager, Health, at the Design Council, added: “The successful design team will receive up to £150,000 to develop its solutions. If more than one team is selected, the fund will be split accordingly. The team or teams will work with our three partner NHS Trusts to co-design innovative solutions with frontline staff over a period of 100 working days – the aim being to prototype, test, and implement as soon as possible to prove that a reduction in violence has been made through these new interventions.”
