Field Trip: a Dutch hospital
Radboudumc is a large teaching hospital in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It’s an impressive facility, which is in the middle of huge project to replace it’s old, outdated buildings.
The hospital has it’s own in-house innovation centre called REshape. Every week they hold an ‘open breakfast’ sessions where people can drop by and see what the team are working on. I was lucky enough to attend and since I’m a healthcare designer, couldn’t resist doing some research on my way through the hospital.
This is REshape’s meeting space which as you can guess, used to be an Operating Room. The area REshape now occupy used to be an intensive care ward and eventually the old building will be demolished and replaced. I’m noticing a theme with innovation teams cropping up in otherwise neglected spaces. For instance, The Sibley Hub in Washington DC now occupy what was the patient records storage room before the hospital moved to electronic records.
The first thing I noticed about the hospital was how much is being torn down. There’s a huge programme of work happening to replace old, outdated buildings. It’s quite striking to see such dramatic changes happening infront of your eyes.
The interior of the hospital was beautiful. The main entrance felt like an upmarket hotel. And I say felt rather than looked on purpose. The ambiance of the hospital felt calm, warm and welcoming.
I later learned that Radboudumc employs a Chief Hospitality Officer who came from the airline industry. I’d like to learn more how they design patient experience, it felt very consciously thought out and deliberate.
Most public buildings and stations in the Netherlands have ample cycling provision. Radboudumc is no exception and has a large underground Fietsenstalling (literal translation: bicycle stabling!) which you cycle straight into down the ramp. It also has a repair shop which do same-day repairs whilst you’re at work.
But being the Netherlands, bicycling doesn’t stop at the front door. Radboudumc is huge, so staff use these kick bikes to move around the facility.
I’m interested in what the etiquette around using them is. Who gives way to whom? Can you just take an unattended one? Can anyone have one or are they just for people who move around a lot?
I’d never seen these carts outside airports before, but they were buzzing around the wide corridors carrying people, or even towing (empty) beds to and from wards.
Flat surfaces like these aren’t just aesthetically pleasing, but are very useful in a hospital setting. Very often, finding somewhere to ‘perch’ can be difficult. Making use of the wide corridors like this makes a lot of sense.
Outside the radiology department, this sign welcomes patients to scan the barcode on their appointment letter which automatically checks them in. The manned reception counter was also available, just through the door.
Free phone charging lockers were available throughout the hospital. What’s particularly interesting is that 1) they were free and 2) they had the hospitals branding. In the UK, I would expect to see the suppliers branding, and possibly a small fee to pay. It also reminded me a sign I saw in Kings College Hospital London which warned me charging my phone “is theft” and not to do it. Quite a different attitude.
I’d not come across this wayfinding technique before in hospitals. Departments, areas and offices are attributed a route code. Route codes are displayed on digital signage and those routes are then grouped together on the physical signs.
It took me a while to realise that this technique is lifted straight from the hotel industry.
It must be so easy to manage in a hospital which is going through huge change and department relocations. Compare the workloads if the X-Ray department moved in the the above example, and the typical NHS signage scheme below.
I know which job I’d rather have.
Art was used around the hospital but I didn’t get many photos. I particularly liked these photographs which I think were taken by staff(?). I need to do some more research into this on my next visit as it added a lot to the ambiance and positive feeling of the space.
Another place I didn’t get a chance to explore was the Medewerkersplein (medical workers square). It was quite tucked away and I think it’s a work area for staff. Doctors in the UK often comment about how it’s constantly impossible to find a desk and/or computer to work at so I’m interested in how this space works.
Before I visited, I was expecting Radboudumc to be like an acute NHS hospital such as St Mary’s in London. However, it reminded me more, and felt more, like a large American hospital a’la Stanford.
It raised questions for myself. Why don’t NHS hospital’s feel like this. What are the main differences? Is it just funding? Or is there something else going on?
I’m looking forward to spending some more time with the REshape team and understanding more about how Radboudumc approaches patient experience design.
