Abstract

The NHS uses the word ‘design’ (or similar meaning words) quite often. For instance policy documents often suggest that services need to be redesigned or that transformational change is needed. Despite these many references to design, these policy documents say little about how this design should be carried out, the process of design. The design approaches that the NHS use tend to be based at the level of design tools and there appears to be little understanding of how these fit into an overall process. The processes that are used are based on the ‘craft’ approach to design, that is an evolution through incremental improvement (PDSA).

In this seminar, Terry Dickerson will look at the ‘business case’ for investing in design capacity in the NHS . He also make some suggestions about what a new approach to design in the NHS might look like and highlights some of the research challenges that need to be addressed