Output details

Hospital Wayfinding: Whose job is it?

The work aimed to discover if the wayfinding strategies developed eight years ago and available to three large NHS hospitals have been effectively implemented and whether there was scope for future improvements. The researcher had previously investigated wayfinding in over 30 hospitals and co-wrote the NHS official guidance on the subject. The current research explored whether the signage in the three hospitals targeted had evolved in innovative ways, used any new technology and provided effective wayfinding systems.

The initial research audit at the first site revealed that the signs and maps were not up-to-date, that there were new buildings without external signage and that there were no innovations in wayfinding or use of new technology. Interviews with estates staff at subsequent sites focused on the problems they faced regarding wayfinding strategies; why some signage was not current, who maintained the systems and whether there were any planned developments for helping patients find their way around their hospital more easily?

This research highlighted new problems, despite the hospitals having available strategies for wayfinding and signage. The findings have led to new ideas about the importance of internal communication, having a ‘Wayfinding Champion’ with access to sufficient funding, training in sign management and using wayfinding aids that are more easily changed when destinations move.

Hospitals are complex and stressful environments. Patients using hospitals may have temporary or permanent disabilities and many are elderly. Clear, up-to-date wayfinding ensures fewer people are late for appointments. This reduces the wasting of staff time and helps with directing patients and thus the efficient use of equipment. Wayfinding in this context is a highly specialist design field and the researcher is one of the leading practitioners in it. The research reported here will inform future revisions to the NHS guidance.