From the car park to the clinic or the ward, step by step
Hospital sites grow over decades and the signs never quite keep up, and people arrive anxious, late or both. Signposted asks where they are, from the car park to the ward corridor, then takes them to the right clinic or ward one step at a time, with a picture of each point and the coloured floor line to follow. Patients see when to leave and where to check in; visitors see visiting times and mealtimes before they set off. It opens from a link in the appointment letter, with nothing to download.
- Car park to clinic or ward, step by step
- Appointment timings and visiting hours
- Designed to WCAG 2.2 AA
Built for a site people arrive at anxious
Plain words, big buttons, and directions from where they are standing.
Directions from wherever they are
"Where are you now?" is the first question and it is always on screen: a car park, the bus stop, the emergency entrance, a department or a ward. Choose from the list or tap the map, and every route and walking time starts there.
Step by step, with a picture of each point
Routes are broken into the decisions people make: leave the car park, cross at the zebra crossing, turn left along the main corridor, take Lifts B to Level 2. Each step has a photograph or a 360 view of that spot, and can be read aloud.
Your floor lines, in words
If your corridors have coloured lines or zones, the directions use them: "follow the blue line to Outpatients". The page and the building tell people the same thing.
Their appointment, worked out
Patients choose the clinic and the time, or open the link in their letter with both filled in. The page works out when to leave, where to check in, how early for a scan, and reminds them as the time comes.
Visiting times, without ringing the ward
Each ward with its visiting hours, protected mealtimes and rules, whether visiting is on now, and when to set off so you arrive as it opens.
How full the car parks are
Each car park with how full it usually is at that time of day, or live counts from your car park system, and a nudge towards the overflow car park when the main ones fill.
Departments A–Z, in plain English
Search "X-ray", "A&E" or "Ward 20" and get the right place, with the floor line to follow and the walking time from where you are.
Sent to their phone
Plan the visit at home, then scan the QR code, text it or email it. The link opens on the phone at step one. Nothing is sent through us.
Accessible from the start
Designed to WCAG 2.2 AA: keyboard and screen-reader use, larger text, high contrast, reduced motion and steps read aloud. Avoid steps sends every route by lift, and blue-badge bays, Changing Places and wheelchairs to borrow are places on the map.
Try Hollowmere General Hospital
Hollowmere is a fictional hospital with three car parks, a main corridor with coloured floor lines, an emergency department, a maternity unit and eight wards on four floors. Plan an appointment or a visit, then follow the route step by step.
Open the hospital demoNo sign-in or download. The hospital, its wards and its parking levels are fictional, and the step pictures are illustrations; a live guide uses photographs or 360 views of your building.
From the car park to the clinic
Choose where you are and where you are going, and the route draws itself across the whole site, then one step at a time: the crossing, the main entrance, the main corridor, the right turn for Outpatients.
- Every car park, the bus stop, drop-off and the emergency entrance
- The floor line to follow, named in every step
- Avoid steps on every route
When to leave, and where to check in
Pick the clinic and the time, or open the link from the letter. The page counts down to when to leave the car park, allows for finding a space when it is busy, and says where to check in and how early.
- Reminders to set off, to check in and when it is time
- Imaging and blood tests have their own check-in rules
Up to the right floor
Wards on upper floors are reached by the lift or the stairs, with the floors drawn on the map so the route can be followed all the way to the ward doors.
- Stairs when they are quicker, the lift with Avoid steps
- A picture of each lift lobby and ward entrance on a live guide
Visiting times for every ward
Choose the ward to see whether visiting is on now, the protected mealtimes, the ward phone number and the rules: two at the bedside, no flowers on some wards, carers welcome at any time on others.
- When to set off so you arrive as visiting opens
- The shop and café on the way
Where to park, eat and find help
How full each car park is, the café, restaurant and shop with their hours, and help points from PALS and the chaplaincy to wheelchairs to borrow, with every department in an A to Z.
- In the demo, parking levels follow a typical day
- A live page can read the car park’s own counts
From site plan to the patient's phone
The plans, photographs and places take days. After that the page belongs to your communications team.
- 1
Send us the plans
The site plan and the floor plans, or we survey them. We draw the walking routes, crossings, lifts, stairs and floor lines, so every walking time is real.
- 2
Photograph the route
We photograph each decision point, or shoot it in 360: car park exits, crossings, entrances, corridors, lift lobbies and ward doors. We have photographed healthcare sites since 2008.
- 3
Add departments, wards and rules
Check-in points and how early to arrive, visiting hours and mealtimes, from your outpatient and ward teams. Your communications team can change them later in seconds.
- 4
Link it from letters and signs
Department links in appointment letters and text reminders, and QR codes in the car parks, at reception and in the lifts. No app to download.
Other places people visit
The same builder with a template for each.
Frequently asked questions
Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Just get in touch, or even better, book a video consultation.
Is it accessible?
It is designed to WCAG 2.2 AA: it works with a keyboard and a screen reader, every place on the map is also in a text list, nothing relies on colour alone, and people can turn on larger text, high contrast, reduced motion, labels on every place and steps read aloud. We recommend an independent accessibility audit of your own build before launch.
Does it store any patient data?
No. The appointment someone types in stays on their own phone, and the page sets no tracking cookies. A link in a letter only needs to carry the clinic and the time, never a name or an NHS number.
Can our appointment letters link to it?
Yes. Every department has its own link, and a link can also carry the appointment time, so the page opens with the timings already worked out. It is plain text in the letter or the reminder message, so it works with whatever system sends them.
Can it show live car park spaces?
If your car park system counts cars in and out, we can look at linking it so the page shows live spaces. Otherwise it shows how full each car park usually is at that time of day, as in the demo.
Does it replace our signs?
No. It works with them: the directions use the same names, numbers and floor-line colours as your signs, so people can check one against the other.
Do visitors need an app?
No. The page opens in any phone browser from a QR code or a link, with no download or sign-up. To-do list ticks are remembered on the visitor's phone.
Can we change it ourselves?
Yes, that is the point. Sign in, edit, publish. Changes are live in seconds, so the page can be updated for an event, a term or a road closure without waiting for anyone.
What does it cost, and how do we get access?
Signposted is priced per site, from £5,000, depending on the size of the site and what it needs. Tell us about your site and we will send a quote.
Need the inside photographed?
We have photographed NHS and private healthcare sites since 2008, including laboratories and theatres. Tell us about the site and we will quote for the photographs or 360 views each step of the route needs.