Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest acute trusts in the UK, provides district general hospital services across Lancashire and South Cumbria. Over time, their website had grown cluttered with too many pages, making it difficult for users to find clear, reliable information. Existing systems also made it challenging to keep content accurate and up to date.
The site no longer met modern website accessibility standards, creating barriers for many users. The trust needed a fully responsive, accessible website that would provide clear information to patients and the public, improve the overall user experience, and ensure compliance with current web accessibility regulations.
We conducted focus groups to gather feedback on the current website and identify areas for improvement. This involved testing three to four new design concepts, as well as evaluating the existing site. The five sessions included input from patients, local authorities, regulatory bodies, press and media representatives, and the general public.
The general consensus was that it was “factual and direct, but lacking inspiration.” One participant commented, “It’s too text-heavy; I’d prefer different colours and icons” another said “Visiting times, outpatient clinics, car park – should take seconds, not minutes to find”. Many agreed that the homepage contained too much information and needed to be simplified, with a stronger focus on the needs of patients.
Based on the user feedback from the current site, we developed three new designs and presented them to the focus group participants. Their response was positive, with one noting, “You can access your visit, information, and maps in seconds and the quick search is good” while another mentioned, “It’s clean, with large buttons and icons.” The use of bold highlight colours also resonated with the group, as one participant remarked, “I like the colour blocks; they make more of an impact.”
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