Abstract

The Design & Dignity Programme, in partnership with the Irish Hospice Foundation and Health Service Executive, was launched in 2010 to create a model or ‘exemplar’ projects within acute hospital facilities. Through the use of the Design & Dignity guidelines this programme has provided support and funding for over 40 projects throughout Ireland. Hospital spaces have been redesigned in areas such as family rooms, mortuaries, viewing rooms and bereavement suites. This programme has ensured that hospitals offer quiet and peaceful places for family members and friends to avail of when someone close to them is dying.

We conducted an independent evaluation of the Design & Dignity programme with a focus on establishing impact of Design & Dignity projects on patients, their families and acute hospital staff. In our evaluation, the Design & Dignity projects were described as symbolic of compassion and demonstrated that the organisation valued the experience of those grieving. Design & Dignity grants not only transformed physical spaces but, according to staff, transformed end-of-life care and have been the catalyst for dignified care in acute care settings. The new spaces have ensured that these principles are no longer aspirational but rather rooted in the culture of end-of-life care.