Providing equitable access to specialist palliative care, regardless of
diagnosis or geographical location, with relatively limited resources and an
ageing population, will become increasing difficult for all hospice services.
This paper describes the development of a Design Brief for a Virtual Hospice
using design tools and methods. The main aim of the Virtual Hospice in this
case is to improve access to services provided by the Highland Hospice in
Inverness, Scotland. The project began by observing Hospice staff and their
interactions with patients. Three User Personas were then created based
on data gathered through interviews with a small number of patients and
professionals. Each Persona’s progress through the Highland Hospice service
was visualised on a User Journey Map in the form of insights and opportunities,
with five key themes emerging. The final step involved producing a
Design Brief that synthesised the research findings in the form of a plan for
creating, prototyping and testing the Virtual Hospice.