The NHS & Experience Design
By Marty Carroll
The Healthcare Commission in the UK has just published (Sept 26th) a report following a major review of all urgent and emergency services in England. While some of the findings are quite positive, one of the most interesting conclusions of the report refers to the confusion that prevails because the public do not understand how these services are provided and by whom. Here’s a quote from the report:
“People often don’t know which services to use, and too often have to repeat their story time and again because services don’t always share information effectively. Navigating between services can be difficult and confusing for patients…”
Is it just me or is there something almost comical that those contacting emergency services have to repeat their story time and again? Just imagine Pete, the 72 year old pensioner: “Yes, hello there, as I was explaining to your colleague earlier, I had a heart attack an hour ago. I trust this isn’t too much of an inconvenience but I couldn’t trouble you to assist me in any way could I?”
It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that people view the NHS with such derision – it’s possibly the least user friendly interface on the planet. Considering it’s the fifth largest employer in the world (after Indian Railways, the Chinese Army, Walmart and the US Dept of Defense) that’s a very big interface!
Two key recommendations from the review include:
1. Support the integration of services and simplify the way services are accessed, for example, through piloting of a single telephone number for urgent care services. A single telephone number has the potential to ensure fewer people attend the wrong services.
2. The Government also needs to use consistent terminology to describe different types of services and make clear what each service provides. This should help patients know which particular service they should attend.
Good start, but these recommendations are tactical measures that gloss over the real issues – the NHS / patient interface is haphazard, inconsistent, chaotic and, at times, frightening. Solving the malaise within service provision at the NHS won’t be accomplished overnight but it should look towards private sector organisations who invest in researching and carefully crafting the user experience. Of course, these organisations expect a return on this investment and do so through greater customer profitability, loyalty and advocacy. What’s the ROI for the NHS?
A reduction in the number of people absorbing limited resources because they use the right service at the right time. The economics are really not that complicated.
The full report can be found here: link to full report