Design for patient dignity

’At the moment you either get moved around in a bed or a portering chair,’ he said. ’The problem is that a portering chair is the lowest common denominator of comfort. The other extreme is that people are being put in a bed when they don’t really need to be. Our design is a hybrid between the two. It allows you to recline at a 110° angle or lie in a neutral position, which according to recent research, significantly improves patient recovery time.’

PearsonLloyd has also developed a bay screen based on kite technology. The 1.5m divider is made up of fabric stretched over a series of lightweight carbon-fibre rods. Each screen is placed at a 45° angle so that patients are unable to see the beds opposite them when sitting or lying, but can still see and talk to the passing staff.

Lloyd explained that the idea behind the technology was to remove the need for curtains, as they remove both a patient’s connection with the hospital environment and control over privacy.