Image by @jcomp on Freepik
Healthcare is a complex system that must balance the needs of many users - clinical staff, support staff, patients and the people supporting patients - while dealing with high demand and budgetary constraints.
Any changes to the system need to be carefully designed to guarantee patient safety and to avoid introducing harm or barriers to access.
Since Nightingale was founded in 2016, we have provided qualitative and quantitative design research to NHS England and NHSX, as well as a range of healthcare startups and scaleups. Both the NHS and startup founders depend on our insights, analysis and guidance to inform their decision-making as well as their design and development processes.
Understanding the needs of clinicians
Across four different projects, NHS England commissioned Nightingale to carry out research into the training needs of clinicians, so that technology and content could be tailored to those needs.
In 2018 we interviewed clinical staff to understand the ways in which they find and choose training opportunities, to inform the design of a platform that would allow them source training that would advance their career and contribute to the overall development of the workforce.
In 2019, we researched ways in which live streaming was being used to deliver remote training, to uncover barriers to its use and to identify ways in which live streaming could be used more effectively to expand training opportunities.
In 2020, we carried out extensive research with doctors, nurses and reception staff to gather insights on how remote triage and consultation was being used in primary care, with the aim of identifying how training could improve the process for both clinicians and patients.
In 2024, the NHSE Technology Enhanced Learning team commissioned Nightingale to carry out research with GP trainees and trainers, in order to get a clear overview of how training was being delivered in different trusts and to identify any difficulties and barriers trainees were experiencing. The TEL team then fed the results of this research into the design of more flexible and accessible training for GPs, ensuring greater engagement and lower attrition.
Understanding the needs of patients
eConsult is a successful healthcare scale-up that allows GP surgeries and emergency departments to quickly and safely triage patients. In 2021, the Nightingale team worked with eConsult, interviewing patients to explore how they engaged with the platform to ensure questions in the process were clear, easy to understand and relevant.
In 2022, NHSX commissioned Nightingale to research a new data-sharing feature of the NHS App with both patients and staff, to understand their opinions of the feature, identify any difficulties they had in using it and to create a name for the feature that users could understand. Through interviews, co-design sessions and prototyping, we gathered detailed insight into how users reacted to the feature, including the issues and benefits they felt the feature could present.
Designing successful healthcare products and services
If you’re creating innovative products and services for healthcare, you’re no doubt aware of the many, and often conflicting, factors you need to consider.
Want to know more?
Watch our webinar on "Delivering successful digital innovation in healthcare" take our quiz to find out what sort of research you need, or get in touch to book a free consultation.
