This presentation provides NHS managers with arguments for selling a design-led project. It covers why design is useful, the design process, and using design to reduce violence in A&E departments. The design process involves understanding users, collaborating across disciplines, and prototyping solutions. It is illustrated by the Double Diamond model, with stages of discovery, definition, development, and delivery. The Design Council worked with the NHS to use design to address violence towards staff in A&E, developing guidance and focusing on people. Managers are encouraged to learn more about design solutions and provide feedback.

1. How design can help you
tackle big issues

2. How to use this presentation
This presentation provides NHS managers
with the rational and supporting arguments
to sell a design-led project to their Trust,
board and senior managers.
It covers three topics:
• Why design?
• The design process
• Reducing violence and aggression in
A&E a design process exemplar

3. Why design?
Good design is a process that can be used to
generate innovative ideas and deliver new
products and services.
It can help you shape patient-centred and
cost-effective services and environments.
Design can help you develop integrated
QIPP plans and improve performance
against A&E clinical quality indicators.

4. Why design?
Designers draw on a number of principles and approaches to turn good
ideas into innovative products, services, environments and experiences.
Understanding users
Good designers spend time with the end-users of the products and
services they create and involve them in the process of designing and
making
Collaboration
Because it focuses on creating the best possible responses to real
human needs, design is intrinsically a very collaborative process.
Designers will collaborate with a range of people – from users and
frontline staff to investors and experts – and bring together a multi-
disciplinary team to tackle all of the issues involved
Prototyping
Designers build and test solutions early in the development process.
This iterative approach means solutions are refined and improved
many times before they are piloted or rolled out

5. The design process
The design process helps businesses and the
public sector shape their ideas so that they
deliver practical, attractive and useful
propositions that people want to buy and
use.
The Design Council illustrates the design
process using a model called the Double
Diamond …

6. The Double Diamond
- design process model

7. The Double Diamond
- design process model
The Double Diamond model illustrates how
designers work through four key stages:
1. First, they open up space for lots of different
ideas to be discovered and shared
2. Then by focusing on user-needs they help identify
and define priority areas to address
3. Next, a designer will develop multiple prototype
solutions based on the opportunity areas
identified
4. Finally, they will focus on distinct objectives and
manufacturing or other constraints to deliver a
final solution

9. The issue

10. The project
NHS hospital staff in the UK experience more than 150
incidents of violence and aggression every day. The
estimated cost of violence and aggression to the NHS
exceeds £69m a year. The problem is particularly
prevalent in high pressure areas such as A&E
departments.
For the Reducing violence and aggression in A&E
programme the Design Council worked in partnership
with the Department of Health and the NHS to co-
ordinate a team of experts, including a consortium of
organisational consultants, user-centred researchers and
emergency care specialists, who collaborated to identify
opportunities for design-led solutions to tackle specific
frontline staff issues.

11. Design solution:
guidance

12. Design solution:
People

13. What now?
• Use the Design Council guide to procuring
good design
• Learn more about design solutions you
could retrofit in your A&E
• Find out more about different design
disciplines
• Share your feedback and thoughts on
www.aetoolkit.org.uk