CONTEXT
Responding to over 7000 calls a year, the First Responder Unit is a critical part of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). In order to improve operational efficiency, SAS initiated an effort to optimize and streamline the treatment incident protocol for emergency dispatches
INSIGHT
IDEA
Insights gathered from field research and ethnographic studies revealed that current information collection methodologies are a major hindrance in the workflow of the first responder administering treatment
The existing information collection form was redesigned for immediate implementation. A sensor-based wearable band and a digital tablet application was created with a focus on information collection at the scene of the incident
IMPACT
The wearable device increased the accuracy of recorded information while the digital application helped reduce data redundancy through improved information architecture. The redesigned physical form reduced information collection time by 30% thereby enabling immediate improvements in operation upon implementation
TEAM
Emil Alex
Kevin Macdonald
Sarah Morgan
MY ROLE
Service Design Lead
User Researcher
UI Designer
Co-presenter
TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES
Stakeholder Interviews / User Surveys / Field Research / Contextual Inquiry / Affinity Diagrams / Journey Mapping / Wireframing / Rapid Prototyping / UI Design / User Testing
INFORMATION COLLECTION METHODOLOGIES
FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE
THE PROCESS
The project had four phases which covered the entire design process from research to testing
THE CONTEXT
The involvement of Community First Responders (CFRs) in medical emergencies in Scotland, and in particular the remote and rural areas, has expanded in recent years. This has been in response to the geographical and organizational challenges faced by ambulance crews during medical emergencies
PARTICIPANT PROFILES
Gathering insights based on qualitative and quantitate research methods
DESIGN RESEARCH
Illustrated storyboards of a first responder's activities when a patient (Bob) suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Rannoch
EXPERIENCE MAPPING
The experience map highlights the pain-point Community First Responders encounter while attending to a call and administering to the patient in need
DESIGN INTERVENTIONS
Scoping the areas of work
PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS
Redesigning the information form based on principles of semantics
THE WEARABLE
In order to help First Responders focus on the task at hand, a wearable was developed that helped them monitor and record the critical statistics of the patient they are attending to
INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT
Through multiple rounds of iterative ideation, a highly efficient user interface was developed for the wearable band
TABLET APPLICATION
A corresponding interface was developed for the tablet used by the ambulance crew which enabled them to track the status of the patient remotely as they were en-route to the scene of the incident. This allowed them to be better prepared when arriving at the location and to ease the trouble of information handoff for the First Responder
