Healthcare on the move Treating Patients in the Community: The Smart Pods Project

Smart Pods is the first-ever Royal College of Art (RCA)/
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC) multi-disciplinary healthcare project. It has
grown out of the College’s chartered commitment to
engage with ‘social developments’ through design – a
commitment which has led to the establishment of
our pioneering Helen Hamlyn Research Centre and,
further back in time, to our celebrated ‘NHS bed’ design
research project for the King’s Fund. This brought
together designers, clinicians, medical researchers
and technologists in a redesign of the hospital bed,
resulting in a new research and design methodology
for healthcare. It also embodied our firm belief that a
surprising number of healthcare issues are, at base,
design issues as well.