Hospital Wayfinder Tool

St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Personalised Navigation Tool

An accessible and personalised virtual aid helps oncology patients navigate St Bart’s Hospital

We worked with Barts Health NHS Trust to create a personalised navigation tool that helps oncology patients find their appointments, removing additional stress during already difficult periods.

We went beyond a basic virtual tour, incorporating patients’ appointment locations, entry points, and transport methods to provide personalised journeys that guide them through the hospital. No confusion. No distractions. Just getting them where they need to be, on time.

Dr Adam Januszewski, a consultant oncologist from St Bart’s approached us with a problem. The hospital is a large and imposing building, a labyrinth of rooms, corridors and stairways, where patients can find it stressful to get to their appointments. Especially when those appointments can be in up to a dozen different locations, depending on what’s needed. Add poor signage and multiple entry points into the situation, and St Bart’s can be hard to navigate at best. Anxiety-inducing at worst.

That’s where Circus came in.

We undertook an intensive discovery exercise, mapping all nodal points, key hubs, and possible routes through the hospital, including stairs and lifts, from entry points to destinations.

Using this data, the navigation aid lets patients choose their appointment location, and even whether they’re arriving by tube or bus, before guiding them from the front door to the reception desk and on to their destination.

Unlike a basic virtual tour that’s free to navigate, can overload with information, and where users can still get lost, ours only shows what’s needed. High definition 360 photos allow users to look around and orient themselves, fly-through videos guide them to the next waypoint, and an AI avatar in five different languages highlights key landmarks along the way.

When an oncology patient receives a letter, SMS or email, the link to the Virtual Tour is included, encouraging them to plan their route ahead of time. For maximum accessibility, the patient can select one of five different languages for the avatar and can choose a route that avoids stairs, if needed.

As a busy working hospital, shooting inside St Bart’s was a challenge, and we had to work closely with all departments for access. Production took place over several early mornings to allow us to get all the photos and videos we needed, without impacting patients or doctors.

What’s more, the tool needs to work on all devices. Each potential patient journey could involve lots of media, so we optimised all assets and utilised preloading to keep the visual quality high, but reduce data requirements. For low-powered devices, a movement-free mode is also available.

Funded by the Northeast London Cancer Alliance (NELCA), we’re proud to say that the virtual tour has been an unparalleled success. We surveyed users to understand how it was being used, and 96% of users rated it 4/5 or above, praising its usability, clarity and quality of content.

“This is another fantastic example of how we’re harnessing technology to improve the quality and equity of care for patients. It gives patients greater confidence and reassurance before their appointment, helping to boost attendance so they can get the care they need without delay.”

Ellen, North East London Cancer Alliance

“The route to a cancer diagnosis is often complex and can cause significant stress and anxiety. For many people, attending unfamiliar hospitals only adds to this burden. We aimed to help people to familiarise themselves with our hospital, in their own language, [so they can] focus on what truly matters: the important conversations with their healthcare team.”

Dr Adam Januszewski

The virtual tour has generated interest from other hospitals that recognise its benefits, and is under consideration for several patient care awards.

If you want Circus to help your business or organisation with an innovative and successful project, contact us today.

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