Improving ambulatory care with ethnographic research
Design Research
Service & Experience Design
Client : Guys & St Thomas' Trust
The challenge
Helping Guys & St Thomas’ NHS Trust improve the outpatient experience
The pressures of the pandemic have left the NHS more stretched than ever before. Two years were focused on containing and managing the spread of COVID-19, pushing people with other health conditions further down the priority list. With patient backlog and patient waiting times at their worst in years across the NHS, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust knew they needed a new approach to improve Ambulatory Care for their patients.
The approach
Researching from every angle
Ambulatory care is sometimes better known as ‘Outpatients’. We utilised a two-pronged research approach; looking at the whole service from the outside-in and inside-out to gather rich, qualitative research and insights. Our research investigated internal delivery and system challenges, as well as uncovering key issues and pain-points for GSTT’s outpatient end-users.
This created a wealth of knowledge and understanding around patients’ needs, building a firm foundation to support the Ambulatory Care team in the future development of ideas and concepts to transform outpatient care.
The impact
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Internal voices heard
Clarification and alignment on the specific challenges that GSTT faces, including voices from the front line.
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Patients’ needs prioritised
Understanding their lived experiences; highlighting the struggles they face and the impact it has on them across all parts of the patient pathway.
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Building tools for transformation
The project outputs formed an Innovation Toolkit with key themes and insights, patient personas, user journeys and opportunity areas. This toolkit gives the team and wider organisation the ability to create innovative change within Ambulatory Care.
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