Dr Alyson Walker, Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Anaesthetist at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow, talked about using co-design to create a child-friendly operating theatre experience. Alyson shared the story of her team’s journey in design to create improvements to their children's operating theatres, in particular the physical environment.

Using the double diamond framework, they gained a deep understanding of the need for improvements. They built a multidisciplinary team, consisting of diverse professionals from the design community alongside those from the healthcare sector. From tiny initial changes, momentum grew and led to the redesign of Scotland's largest children's operating theatre department.

It required tenacity, but their project shows that trusting in the design process can lead to useful improvements.

Read the synopsis of Alyson's presentation.

We are unable to share Alyson's slides due to these containing clinical images.

Andrew Quinn, Lead Service Designer at National Services Scotland talked about gamification and levelling up your impact.

Andrew shared how the NSS service transformation team is using gamification and serious play to bring research to life for decision makers and drive true user-centred change.

View Andrew’s slides.

Play the game Andrew shared.

Panel Q&A

The panel discussion explored the challenges, successes, and strategies involved in embedding design approaches in complex environments like healthcare, policing, and wider public services. The conversation provided valuable insights on creating sustainable change, influencing mindsets, and driving better outcomes through design.

A synopsis of the discussion is available to read.

Scottish Approach to Change

Clare Morrison, Director of Engagement & Change talked about the Scottish Approach to Change framework, designed to support meaningful and sustainable change in healthcare and beyond.

Clare emphasised that creating lasting change requires more than just NHS efforts - it demands collaboration across sectors and services.

The presentation about the Scottish Approach to Change is available to read.

A short video of the day is available to view.