Providing equitable access to specialist palliative care, regardless of diagnosis or geographical location, with relatively limited resources and an
ageing population, will become increasing difficult for all hospice services. This paper describes the development of a Design Brief for a Virtual Hospice
using design tools and methods. The project began by observing Hospice staff and their interactions with patients. Three User Personas were then created based on data gathered through interviews with a small number of patients and professionals. Each Persona’s progress through the Highland Hospice service was visualised on a User Journey Map in the form of insights and opportunities,
with five key themes emerging. The final step involved producing a Design Brief that synthesised the research findings in the form of a plan for
creating, prototyping, and testing the Virtual Hospice.