Hospitals are complex environments which are difficult to navigate, especially by patients who may be feeling anxious, experiencing pain, or who have a disability.

To address this challenge health trusts commonly use a plethora of signs, often incorporating colour coding to help people find their way from the carpark or entrance to their intended destination.

But is this really the best approach?

According to Mike Slater, managing director of Select Wayfinding, the answer is no!

“Successful hospital wayfinding aims to increase efficiencies across all communications and, as a result, help to tackle the problem of missed appointments which cost the NHS each year millions of pounds each year,” he said.

“We believe people should be able to understand exactly where they need to be without having to ask a member of staff, consequently resulting in fewer unnecessary staff interactions.

“However, in most hospitals this isn’t happening. Instead, when you go to a hospital there might be signs fixed to the walls or hung from the ceilings – it’s all a bit chaotic.

Less is more!

“Colour coding and signage is not wayfinding; it’s design.

“I can explain colour coding to someone, but if I have to do that then patients will need somebody there when they arrive and then the system isn’t working.

“The less information, the better the journey plan.”

For the past 30 years Slater has been on a mission to change the way people think about wayfinding and has worked with a number of hospitals across the country to simplify their existing strategies.

“When I visit a hospital I carry out a full analysis so I understand the entire communication trail, from the information given on the appointment letters and how people arrive at the site, to what is required for them to get to where they need to go once there,” he said.

“It’s about looking at it from a human perspective.”

One problem, he claims, is that wayfinding solutions are often the work of interior or graphic designers and associated maps and drawings are approved by estates and facilities professionals, who are used to reading plans.

Slater said: “Because these people know and understand the system, they assume the public will too.

“But a survey carried out by Modulex revealed that 78% of people cannot read or understand maps in strange environments, so we need a fresh approach.”

Reducing confusion

The names given to departments, and the wide array of colours used to define various corridors, floors, and entrances, also cause issues.

“Many hospitals have massive boards with all the ‘ologies’ named on them and arrows pointing in a particular direction,” Slater said.

“Firstly, patients do not often understand the various medical terms and, secondly, once you start naming a department, you have to have a system where you signpost these at every entrance and junction, and that means signs everywhere.

“Simplification is what you want.

“Say you approach a T junction and a single sign says departments 1-40 to the left and 41-70 to the right. That’s just two panels and it becomes much easier for people to see where they are going.

“It’s about moving people in spaces and places, understanding what they need to do next, and putting that information in front of them.”

While there is no blanket solution to the problem of hospital wayfinding, Slater advocates analysing current strategies and highlighting where things are going wrong.

Maximising efficiency

“Many of our hospitals were built over 100 years ago and they are very complex with a mix of old and new buildings and lots of levels,” he said.

“To do a full analysis I go into hospitals and I look at the mess they have made

“I will then come up with a strategy. I probably reduce the signage in most hospitals by between 30-60%.”

Slater works with The Christie Hospital in Manchester, the largest specialist cancer facility in Europe.

The trust wanted a simple and pragmatic approach to reduce stress for patients and visitors and emphasising the need for patients to find the necessary locations as efficiently as possible, therefore reducing time wasted by late or missed appointments.

Select Wayfinding consultants reviewed all communication links through a detailed analysis.

The first focus was to strip the hospital of all visual noise which was having a negative impact on the way people navigated the building.

The team then designed a wayfinding strategy which could be understood from all three entrances to the building and would allow for future expansion.

And, at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex, development work and the creation of new roads around the hospital led to a rethink of the approach to wayfinding.

“We needed to guide visitors into the hospital from the roundabout as many visitors were simply missing the correct turning, leading to late and missed appointments,” said Slater.

“The team also realised that due to the hospitals ambition for future development, a flexible and durable solution was necessary, one that could be easily modified at a later date.

“The hospital worked closely with us to produce a solution that communicates clearly.

“These consistent improvements promote a greater level of understanding for staff and patients alike, creating a unified structure of success to take into the future.”

Turning to technology

To help trusts create new wayfinding schemes, or improve on their existing strategies, Slater has created the Wayfinder App, which uses groundbreaking technology to help people navigate their way through complex buildings.

The app, which is already being used in IKEA, operates on a smartphone, with no wifi or hardware necessary, and can quickly calculate the fastest and most-logical route to a desired location within a hospital.

Slater explains: “I have been working on this for eight years and it is going to be a gamechanger for wayfinding in complex buildings.

“Users just type in their desired location and let the real-time blue dot icon take them there, in a similar way to a car satnav.

“It is effectively digitising the entire estate, both inside and out.

“All the information is broken down and in the right place, so you know where you are and where you are going. It even highlights points of interest along the way.”

He concludes: “Missed appointments can cost an average trust up to £3m a year.

“Technology that helps patients navigate to their appointments, such as the wayfinderapp, can reduce this cost by up to 50%.

“By using smartphones, patients can easily find their way from the car park to their appointment, and staff will not be interrupted for directions, allowing them to use their time more efficiently and saving the trust additional money.

“Each trust can potentially save around £2m per year by eliminating interruptions for directions, so it’s a really-important thing for hospitals to get right.”

www.selectsignsystems.com