Emily Carr students pitch design for new St. Paul's Hospital

The new St. Paul’s Hospital is still a long way from completion but designers are already looking at how the health-care facility can better meet the needs of frontline staff and patients.

It’s known as “service design” and according to project-lead Nadia Beyzaei, it’s a common practice in the United Kingdom but still relatively new in Canada.

“We focus on how we can address complex problems,” said Beyzaei who is the manager of the Health Design Lab at Emily Carr University of Art and Design

“We talk to frontline staff and get their perspective on how they want their future workplace to be.”

A group of students and staff looked specifically at one floor of the new hospital as part of their research project. The floor will amalgamate what are currently five separate units.  

“I think historically design has lived in the physical design space – interior design, layouts, floor plans – which is hugely important for healthcare delivery,” said Rob Paquin, a PhD student. “Service design is around: How are we going to use that space? And how are we going to take that space and make it work for us?”

Essentially, the goal of the research was to figure out how to create a workflow best suited for staff and patients.

“A building is just a building and unless we really intentionally think about how it’s going to work, that value doesn’t come through,” said Paquin.

During the eight-month research project, the team went into the current St. Paul’s Hospital and spoke with health-care workers about their needs.

Issues raised were the length it takes to get to the operating room and the size of the waiting room.

The research is something Paquin shares is very close to his heart.

"I’m a long-time nurse and paramedic myself and I would have loved for someone to be asking me on a daily basis: ‘How do you think this department should be run? What can we do better?’” he told CTV News.

"It's those who are really at the coalface of care who really understand how to improve the care system."

The collaboration is something Providence Health Care says is key.

"It’s really complex, so we need to make sure that everybody understands that they don't have their own system anymore and there has to be sharing but it has to be safe and efficient.,” said Miriam Stewart, the chief clinical planning officer for the new St Paul’s.

“It allows Emily Carr students to talk to staff, (find out) how they feel about this, what could be possible, and really start that start changing early on,” she said.

The ideas were presented to the health authority, which is actively discussing whether the suggestions will be implemented.

The new hospital is supposed to open in early 2027.