All Field Notes
Field Note #001 Care as Infrastructure

1 min read

System Observed

Children Hospital Appointment in Ireland

Failure Pattern

The system assumes that care ends at discharge, and that follow-up will happen without active coordination from the parent.

What I Noticed

In the emergency department, the environment was modern, efficient, and well-equipped. After admission to the inpatient ward, the physical space changed significantly. Rooms were small, outdated, and not designed for a parent to stay overnight comfortably with a child.

A follow-up review for potential asthma was verbally promised within two months. No appointment was scheduled or communicated. After the timeframe passed, the hospital had no record of a booked follow-up, requiring the parent to initiate contact and consider a formal complaint.

Design Lens

Care Discontinuity, Infrastructure Stratification, Institutional Amnesia

Sketch

A split hospital experience: a modern, well-equipped emergency department downstairs contrasted with an outdated, cramped inpatient ward upstairs where a parent struggles to stay overnight beside a child. A dotted line represents a promised follow-up that disappears into a gap, requiring the parent to chase the system.
A split hospital experience: a modern, well-equipped emergency department downstairs contrasted with an outdated, cramped inpatient ward upstairs where a parent struggles to stay overnight beside a child. A dotted line represents a promised follow-up that disappears into a gap, requiring the parent to chase the system.