A Guide to Waiting Room Design: Enhancing Patient Experience Through Thoughtful Planning

As we covered in our previous blog, waiting room design is a vital part of a patient’s relationship with their healthcare provider. As a patient’s journey will often begin in a waiting area, it’s crucial that the space feels welcoming to put them in a better headspace. If budgets aren’t allocated to creating a welcoming waiting area, then the entire patient journey could get off on the wrong foot. 

You’re often in a healthcare waiting room because you’re unwell so you may already be feeling anxious. If the space hasn’t been updated to better focus on patients’ wellbeing, it can subconsciously make the patient feel unwelcome and uneasy about the care they’re about to receive. This in turn can begin to breakdown the patient’s trust in the healthcare system and with the care professionals they’re about to see. 

In this blog, we explore furniture and layout choices that you can make to improve a patient’s experience whilst in your waiting area.

How accessible signage can create an easy to navigate waiting area for your patients 

Imagine you’re walking through a shopping centre or an airport departures area, and you need to figure out how to get to your end destination. What makes your journey an easy one? We predict that good signage is a crucial element in your journey. 

Now, let’s imagine a similar scenario where you’re entering a hospital trying to figure out where to wait for your appointment. If the signs aren’t easy to find, read and follow, then your experience may become negative and unpleasant. 

Usually this isn’t the case though as in a well-thought-out waiting area as each sign has been meticulously placed to ensure the user can get to where they need to, efficiently and easily. The size of the text, colours of the sign and placement are all key factors to ensure each sign does its job for users of all abilities. These factors could arguably be more important within healthcare environments compared to our first examples of a shopping centre or airport. 

How inclusive seating options can put patients and visitors at ease

No matter what size, ability, age or height a patient is, having a suitable and accessible seat for them to use within a wating area should be non-negotiable. 

If a patient is bariatric but their companion isn’t (or vice versa), making sure they can be seated together can be the difference between a good waiting room experience and a bad one. If the companion is there for support, making the two of them sit apart because a wider, more supportive chair is on the other side of the room doesn’t instil trust in the patient. 

Using beam seating that incorporates bariatric and standard seating as one can be the answer to this. We explore more on this in our blog, ​‘Real-Life Transformations: How Hospitals Are Enhancing Waiting Areas for Comfort, Inclusivity, and Wayfinding’.

Tailor-made space planning to meet your facility’s needs 

When it comes to planning a waiting room space from scratch, or refreshing an existing one, a bespoke space plan can be game-changing. While certain ​‘out of the box’ designs can be beneficial, there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for waiting area design. That’s where a space planning service can help. 

Combining everything we’ve covered so far, here are some key factors to consider when planning your space: 

• Are the signs easy to read and understand by all users? Consider that partially sighted people may be using the waiting area. 

• Are the colours used calming? Do they complement the space? Consider checking the colours using an accessibility tool for signage colours. 

• Does the seating offer inclusivity and equality for all users? Think seamless integration of bariatric and standard seating. 

Here at Ocura, we work with you every step of the way. We use our many years of experience to create a space that works for your needs, and those of the patients. In our next blog we explore some examples of how we’ve worked with Trusts across the country to enhance their waiting areas. 

Check out our blog, ​‘Real-Life Transformations: How Hospitals Are Enhancing Waiting Areas for Comfort, Inclusivity, and Wayfinding’.

Alternatively, get in touch with our team today to discuss your requirements:

📞 01732 367 777
✉️ sales@​ocura.​co.​uk
🔗 ocu​ra​.co​.uk/​c​o​n​t​a​ct-us