Humanising experiences

A Madrid oncology day unit was working clinically - but the human experience, for patients and professionals alike, could be improved. Waiting felt like waiting. The consultation room reinforced distance. The brief was to change that.

In collaboration with Oopen Design Studio, we embedded ourselves inside the unit using ethnography, in-depth interviews, and co-creation workshops with the full spectrum of people who inhabited it daily — oncologists, haematologists, nurses, administrative staff, and patients.

The research identified six key areas for transformation - from patient onboarding to spatial comfort to the quality of human encounter at every stage of the care pathway. Findings fed directly into a full redesign of the unit's physical space: waiting areas reimagined as places of encounter, consultation rooms restructured around a round table, treatment bays opened to natural light.

A more efficient space. And a more human one.

Respondents: patients · oncologists · haematologists · nursing & administrative staff

Methods: ethnography - participatory observation · IDIs - visual documentation / co-creation workshops / Patient journey

Market: Spain