Each year more than 1,600 premature and sick newborns are admitted to the Grantley Stable Neonatal Unit (GSNU), requiring specialist care and management. They care for babies who are born prematurely (less than 37 weeks gestation) or require diagnosis and care of surgical, genetic or breathing problems. Sick babies can be admitted to the Neonatal Unit from the hospital or transferred from other hospitals across regional Queensland and northern New South Wales through our Neonatal Retrieval (NeoResq) Service. The unit was opened on the 10th of August 2000, and has not had any significant updates to the space since.
Approach
This project aimed to improve the experience of parents and staff in the neonatal unit by addressing three key foci that are used to frame the immersion + engagement, as well as the design concepts:
Visual Communication Design incorporates a broad array of approaches that are used to convey ideas and information. In this project, we drew upon our skills in graphic design, branding, image making, and information design through the use of colour and artworks to create an aesthetically pleasing and cohesive environment that aids in wayfinding to reduce stress and anxiety for parents and staff.
Spatial Design (Interior Architecture) is used to redesign specific spaces to enhance their functionality, usability, and aesthetics, while also being tailored to suit the specific needs of the users. In this project, the design of interior spaces involved planning, arranging, and reorganising zones and elements within the space, designing new joinery, and the selection of materials, finishes, and furnishings.
Service Design is typically concerned with end-to-end ‘customer’ journey experience. In this project, experiential factors were considered using service design approaches to narrow in on specific opportunities to improve upon or create better touchpoints to meet the needs and expectations of parents and staff.
Process
Site Visits / Unit Tours: The research-design team conducted regular site visits and unit tours. During these visits, the team would often meet with various staff to discuss challenges, ideas, and concepts.
Ideas Marketplace: To engage with parents and staff, the research-design team held an ideas marketplace over 2 days within the unit, with activities left up for an additional 4 days over the weekend. The engagement activities comprised three parts:
- Static Interaction Displays – located in staff room and parent lounge
- Guided Activities – including a ‘tree installation’ and ‘photo-talk’ activity
- Designer Interaction – involving unstructured interviews, and ‘walk-shops’
Project Outcomes
The design team’s response to designing a supportive environment in the Grantley Stable unit at the RBWH, was identified, defined, and justified in alignment with the feedback gathered by our own engagement with staff and families, in addition to the Recommended Standards for NICU Design (Consensus Committee on Recommended Design Standards for Advanced Neonatal Care, 2019), and Supportive Design Theory.
The research and engagement resulted in the proposal of six design concepts ranging from lower-cost solutions which re-imagine the Bobby Bevan Room and the Xray room; medium-cost solutions focused on the use of colour and artwork to transform the visual experience by creating zones and a sense of identity for the unit; and finally, higher-cost solutions which focus on redesigning the parent craft rooms and the parent hub spaces. The concepts are detailed in the Final Report, below.
Click on the image below to read the Final Report, including Concepts & Recommendations:
Project Team
QUT:
Professor Evonne Miller – Project Supervisor & Co-Director HEAL
Dr Abbe Winter – Project Manager
Dr Sarah Johnstone – Project Manager & Service Design
Dr Anastasia Tyurina – Visual Communication
Leighann Ness Wilson – Interior Architecture
CEQ:
Dr Satyan Chari – Co-Director HEAL
Anna Wesselman – Project Officer
RBWH Team:
Michelle Gavin
Jackie Clement
Fiona Packman