Involving families
What have we done so far?
As part of our programme to safely and effectively transfer children's cancer services to Evelina London, we're continuing to design the cancer care areas.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of Work outlines 8 stages to guide the design and construction of buildings.
In RIBA Stage 3, families helped develop detailed designs for the areas of the future children's cancer services. Read an online report about how feedback from families shaped these designs.
We have continued to work in partnership with families during RIBA Stage 4, which is the stage where we asked them what the spaces should look like and what each room should include, from practical features to artwork.
This report explains how they influenced the cancer care areas that will be in our Children's Day Treatment Centre.
There are plenty of opportunities for other families to share their experiences to help inform the designs for the future inpatient and outpatient areas, information about how to get involved is on the Evelina London website.
Gathering patient and family feedback
Patients and families were brought together to share feedback about the Children's Day Treatment Centre. Throughout 10 sessions they told us what they thought about the proposed look and feel.
Children's cancer teams also helped shape the new areas. During 2 sessions they shared their expert knowledge from working with and supporting families.
We also asked families for their opinions on the Children's Day Treatment Centre areas at every opportunity as part of the regular planning for children's cancer services. As a result, we discussed plans in a further 9 meetings.
Online feedback
To increase the opportunities to provide feedback, we held workshops and meetings online to make them more accessible. This included:
- sessions where families could discuss artwork directly with the design team
- the option to meet one-to-one with the programme team
- discussions at The Royal Marsden Parents' Forum, and other ongoing virtual meetings
- by email and through surveys
We held a competition inviting children and young people to submit artwork showing what they imagine a 'space garden' would look like, to be incorporated into the designs.
A drawing of a 'magical garden in space' entered into the competition
A drawing of a 'magical garden in space' entered into the competition
"Being listened to by the wider team, who have taken on board feedback and suggestions and incorporated them into the design scheme, even when some have been challenging, has been both greatly rewarding and humbling."
In-person feedback
Artist Kiriko Kubo and an Evelina London patient
Artist Kiriko Kubo and an Evelina London patient
We met families face to face in a range of creative and hands-on sessions, including:
- art masterclasses at The Royal Marsden and Evelina London with patients and Japanese manga artist Kiriko Kubo, who designed the artwork for existing areas in Evelina London Children's Hospital and is designing the new areas
- a Royal Observatory workshop at The Royal Marsden to support the 'space' theme of the new areas
- family visits to the Children's Day Treatment Centre and Evelina London Children's Hospital. This includes visits focused on how the designs can be inclusive of children with visual impairment. This work was supported by Mr Dot, a visually impaired artist
- a visit to a Paediatric Oncology Shared Care Unit (POSCU) in Margate to hear directly from children and young people at the furthest edge of our catchment area
"Evelina London has involved parents, patients and patient representatives throughout, and ensured that it was a totally collaborative process whereby our experience and influence really has helped to shape the future service and how the building works for patients and families alike."
Influencing the designs
The cancer care areas in the Children's Day Treatment Centre will consist of:
- a procedure and recovery suite on the 2nd floor
- a dedicated day care unit on the 3rd floor
Procedure and recovery suite
The procedure and recovery suite on the 2nd floor of the Children's Day Treatment Centre will be a clinical space, so we worked with children's cancer teams to use their specialist knowledge and experience of supporting families to shape the area in the best possible way.
We also worked closely with parents to understand how we could make this space as calm and supportive as possible.
Day treatment area
The day treatment area is in the day care unit. This is where children and young people will get treatments like chemotherapy.
A large, central staff base so families can find a member of our team whenever they need to.
Side walls to reduce noise between treatment areas.
Curtains for the glazed screens in treatment areas for privacy and comfort.
Bedside lockers to secure personal items.
Televisions that can be pulled out or pushed against the wall to make the most of the space.
Extra power sockets where parents and carers will be sitting.
Play area
The play area in the day care unit will be a multi-purpose, fun and comforting space that can be used at any time of day or night.
Accessible storage above and below seating area to store a large number of games and toys.
Inclusive spaces for wheelchairs.
Plenty of power outlets near tables.
Soft closing, colourful bins and a sink area to help maintain tidiness.
Theme
Children and young people using the current service have repeatedly told us that staying connected to the outside world and nature is very important to them.
To keep nature at the heart of the designs, they chose a 'space garden' theme for the new areas in the Children's Day Treatment Centre.
A garden in space begins with a single seed. This theme celebrates beginnings, cycles, and growth beyond Earth.
It is in keeping with the existing space theme in the other areas of the building, but also recognises the importance of creating an environment that reflects families' needs.
There are patterns in space that are echoed in plants, like orbits, spirals and bloom cycles. The artwork in the new areas will use this geometric language that both the garden and the galaxy speak.
Alongside the colourful wall drawings, there will be fun and surprising facts about space and plants, giving families something new to discover while they're in hospital.
Characters
A group of characters is used throughout Evelina London Children's Hospital. We've expanded and developed them across the children's hospital and new cancer care areas.
Families told us how important it is to feel a sense community, so we updated some of the existing characters to give them features that might feel familiar to patients.
For example, some characters now have no hair, or are using medical devices to help children and young people with cancer feel seen and understood and create a sense of shared experience.
4 new, teenaged characters have also been added to the set.
Introducing...
Pip, pronouns: they/them
Zadie, pronouns: she/her
Mimi, pronouns: she/her
Rex, pronouns: he/him
These new characters have been developed with a muted colour palette because families told us that they felt that brighter colours are well-suited to younger children but their teenagers tend to prefer pared-back colour schemes because they feel more mature.
They also highlighted the importance of creating a clear visual distinction between characters designed for younger and older age groups to create a shared environment that feels inclusive and engaging for teenagers.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the designs.
Our next report will be about all of the ways families have guided the detailed designs and artwork for the inpatient and outpatient areas.
Visit the Evelina London website for more information about the future children's cancer services at Evelina London.
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