The Chronic Facility
Photography by Dan Medhurst
One day there will be a health care service which caters for life with disease. Until then we have to imagine what it might feel like.
The Chronic Facility is alternative system for treating people with chronic disease, taking the service rituals and system of a restaurant and redesigning it to cater for this need.
The project suggests a future outpatient department of the NHS, with a holistic approach to health care. Providing a language to discuss issues of living with disease, treatments and diagnosis.
The Facilities infrastructure has developed from an inclusive methodology of alternative workshops and performances which have resulted on the redesign of the relationship between patient, clinician and scientist, and allows us to discuss possible futures.
The project provides an event which brings together people from different specialisms to engage in a dialogue about living with disease.
The Facility uses representations of peoples diagnosis created by models from scientists which can be served to customers. The moment you are diagnoses, terminology is scary, the project aims to provide us with alternative ways to communicate in this situation.
The installation will serve two parts, firstly it will present a design proposal for a speculative health care system running parallel to the NHS. Secondly serve as a space to invite health care providers and provide their own opinions and idea of what health care could be.
The show at the Royal College of Art will consist of performances of this service where the public has the opportunity to have these sculptures explained by the experts. This project has been in collaboration with the Neuroimmunology Group at Barts and The London NHS Trust.
RCA SHOW 25th JUNE – 4th JULY 2010, KENSINGTON GORE, SW7 2EU
The Chronic Facility performance, Saturday 26th June 1 – 3 PM
Read about it on The Nursing Times and It’s Nice That.