KwickScreen in Guy's Cancer Centre - European Healthcare Design Awards 2017

KwickScreen has entered the European Healthcare Design Awards 2017 in the Design Innovation for Quality Improvement category.

Hospital Privacy Screens KwickScreen - Innovation summary:

Hospital privacy screens KwickScreen helps hospitals create multi-use environments. An alternative to curtains, the product’s inspiration was to free-up scarce side rooms and bring a privacy or isolation solution to the patient. KwickScreen is a portable retractable roll-out wall. It is hygienic & easy to clean, can be used by one clinician, is compact & printable. It is design registered, and has two patents. It is manufactured in a new dedicated factory in N. London. An innovative glass fiber material was developed specifically for the product. KwickScreens have been installed on every floor of the Guy’s Cancer Centrereplacing curtains throughout. This prestigious project represents one of the most significant installations that the young company has done to date, which conceived at the RCA by Michael Korn who later worked in Imperial College with support from the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. In the design process staff and patients were involved via co-creation workshops and numerous on-site visits with prototypes.

“There are always challenges with using creative products in a hospital environment due to infection control risks. KwickScreeen provides a solution whereby you have a high quality substrate on which to print artwork or way finding and satisfies the rigors of a clinical environment as it can withstand deep cleaning.“

- Liz O’Sullivan, Trust Arts Manager, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

Hospital Privacy Screens KwickScreen - Design approach and values:

Our design values are to strive for simplicity and elegance alongside functional product innovation to deliver a benefit to patients in everyday environments in the NHS estate. The value of simplicity led to a product that was both intuitive to use and clean. The patented innovation of the roll-up composite frame structure and the use of ultra-smooth polyester film achieved this as the product is stable at any length, is always held taught and has minimum number of wheels – making it easy to clean around. The value of design elegance and visual aesthetic led to simple clean-lined interlocking aluminum extrusions for the body and a high grade printed surface for the screen panels. The innovation of interchanging these inner panels led to the extra feature of switching artwork for various locations/times of the year. The simple elegant product works on its own. Rooms are clutter-free as the self-supporting screens do not require any ceiling tracking and are hidden from view when retracted.

Our values of simplicity and innovation follow right through to the service we deliver our customers. Our new London factory uses state of the art technology so we can work with our suppliers to make the experience of buying individually customized printed screens to hospitals as easy as ordering groceries online.

Hospital Privacy Screens KwickScreen - Sustainability:

We put sustainability at the core of design decisions, considering the impact throughout the design, manufacturing, delivery and end of life. The product is manufactured in London. Wherever possible suppliers are locally sourced, 95% within the UK. The new KS Pro has an extruded body with click-on parts for easy disassembly and end-of-life recycling. We provide an after use collection and disposal service.

Cleaning is a major design consideration. Cleaners have an easy to clean product, which can be wiped down with any common detergent or steam cleaned. Being a reusable product that does not require laundry KwickScreen offered the most sustainable patient privacy solution for the Cancer Centre at Guy’s Hospital. The success of this project has spearheaded other cancer centres that have adopted KwickScreens, namely; Imperial College, Tameside General Hospital, the QA Portsmouth and Ipswich Hospital. At Ipswich Cancer Centre KwickScreens allow the space to be configured for open plan areas for patients to connect when appropriate and ensure privacy and dignity can be provided when required. The images on the screens tie in with the artwork on the walls on the ward to create a cohesive art care package that is visually stimulating.

The screens enable staff to keep an open-plan friendly environment for patients undergoing radiotherapy, whilst having the ability to rapidly provide good privacy to patients where and when required.

Hospital Privacy Screens KwickScreen - Design quality and the patient experience:

Screens help patients who might be experiencing a negative reaction to chemotherapy treatment. The large gapless privacy screens give maximum dignity for the patent, while other patients are minimally disturbed. Patients expressed joy at seeing new and beautiful things which are a pleasant distraction form their treatment. KwickScreens offer a pleasant therapeutic experience with ever changing artwork to enjoy. Accessories such as gel and glove holders can be attached to the handles making sure that the hygiene equipment is always in the most appropriate place, next to the entrance to the patient area.

Consultants now have modern clean spacious treatment rooms without the mess of hanging curtains or the clutter of fold-up screens.

The internal marketing team has a means of displaying throughout the center their corporate messaging which has been designed to create a place that is compassionate and supportive of recovery.

Staff to have a product that is easy and safe to use, transport throughout the hospital and very compact for storage anywhere.

“A number of treatment and consultation rooms have a variety of medical equipment and the KwickScreens streamlines the view so that any gas or other medical equipment are hidden from the view of patients to not create any additional anxiety.”

- Dipannita Betal, Stakeholder Engagement Specialist at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

Hospital Privacy Screens KwickScreen - Application and cost-benefit:

Fixed screens are mounted to walls with brackets requiring simple fixings. The screens can be moved & re-attached easily, with minimal disruption, while patients are on-site. Estates teams and future architects have the ability to ‘move walls’ as the needs of the building change. No curtain tracks were required and the installation was completed in just 1.5 days. KwickScreen is a unique cost effective solution for the building in the short and long-term.

The screens have been attached to awkward shaped/angled walls in the triangular-shaped building. The screens flex in and out and to the sides, enabling useful private patient areas can be created in otherwise underutilized spaces. Many rooms can now be used as either treatment or consultation rooms. Clinical staff can now easily create patient spaces as and when needed throughout the day. The screens have a significant life cycle cost-benefit in terms of cleaning costs and overall reducing cross contamination of HCAIs.

“I have two clinics a week at the Guy’s Cancer Centre where I see 10 patients each day. The best thing about the new hospital is the new retractable screens as they allow me to keep a tidy room and give the patient maximum privacy when they are getting changed. Patients often comment on how magic they are when they roll back so small. They are much better than curtains.”

- Debra Josephs, Clinical Lecturer at Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Hospital Privacy Screens KwickScreen - User engagement:

This innovation for KwickScreen and Guys developed by following the ‘double-diamond’ process with divergent and convergent thinking. Discover to uncover latent needs. Define to a few propositions. Develop to multiple solutions quickly prototyped. Deliver the eventual product.

We work hard to understand the insights and human stories around our customers and potential customers which we translate into newly designed products and improvements. Regular review meetings were held with clinicians. By taking a university project into market, with our own production, sales, marketing and customer support team KwickScreen we needed to quickly learn that a linear and conservative development process would not deliver the transformative growth that the fledgling company needed to be able to deliver at the required quality and scale. The value of putting the voice of the patient first and having the customer present in all our design meetings (if not in person, then represented by an empty chair) has permeated throughout the company making sure we stay relevant. We learnt there is a latent need for hygienic cost effective ways to display art in healthcare settings. We surpassed expectations by creating, and patenting, a way to interchange this artwork allowing the screen to act like a portable picture frame for large format high resolution very economically printed therapeutic images.