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Bringing patient environment enhancements into an ICU is very unusual for adult care.
Staff in our conversations insisted that we “follow the science,” particularly in relation to delirium. Through our research, we found that exposure to natural light is the single most important factor in mitigating ICU psychosis, a cluster of serious psychiatric symptoms experienced by patients in intensive care or similar settings.
Almost all our designs for this department focused on bringing in more light (with the changing qualities of daylight) to the wards.
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Another element that can help to ease ICU psychosis is access to clocks.
When patients have a sense of time, it can reduce their confusion and anxiety, and provides a connection to reality. We designed glowing Corian clocks for each bed bay, along with a unique moving image artwork.
The backlit colours on the clocks change gradually throughout the day.
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The moving image piece represents Southampton and the sea. It is programmed to check in with the weather station, with the scene changing depending on conditions and the time of day. Sailing boats, seagulls, the Isle of Wight ferry and the QE2 cruise ship all make scheduled appearances and at night, moonlight casts a subtle glow.
All these artworks are designed to help re- establish internal rhythms, and to re-orientate patients.
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Project Information
Date
2019
Sector
Healthcare
Service
Intensive Care Unit
Client
University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust
Artists
AiS in house
Team
Celia Knox, Martin Jones
Awards
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