The GP Waiting Room In Sight

Waiting comes with the territory when seeking and receiving medical attention, and the GP surgery waiting room is a place where this most frequently occurs. Yet GP waiting rooms and the public’s experience of, and in them, is a neglected topic. The little we know indicates that whilst members of the public may arrive anxious, aspects in and of a waiting room, can help calm nerves and ready someone for a productive conversation about their health. Or increase anxiety and loss of agency. 

We engaged the help of a professional photographer, the support of surgery managers who allowed us to photograph twenty-five surgery waiting rooms which we did whilst they were empty thus avoiding any involvement of the public. 

Our analysis of the images found that some waiting rooms gave off an air of calm, affording access to light and nature and had a personal touch lent by, for example, local artwork or up-to-date community news.  But we also found ‘unloved’ waiting rooms.  The key belief that we formed was that the waiting room is much more than a transit zone between home, the outside world and the GP.