Aged care products among design award winners

A medication pack for aged care residents with Parkinson’s disease and the revamped My Aged Care website have been recognised for their excellent design this week.

The Good Design Awards, which were announced on Wednesday, is an annual event that celebrates hundreds of well-designed new products in Australia across 28 categories.

Webstercare received a gold good design award in the communication packaging category for its Webster-pak 6 Dose (Parkinson’s) medication pack.

The medication blister pack supports people with Parkinson’s disease and other complex regimens to support individual treatment plans.

The pack, which arranges medications by the specific time they need to be taken, was designed for use in residential aged care facilities, but is also suitable for other cases.

Webstercare managing director Gerard Stevens said he was proud to have won the award.

“Medication management is a major concern for someone living with Parkinson’s and their families and ensuring adherence is key to improving the quality of life for patients.

“This prompted Webstercare, in partnership with Parkinson’s NSW, to develop a special medications folder specifically for Parkinson’s drugs,” Mr Stevens said.

“The Parkinson’s Webster-pak is particularly useful in aged care facilities where there are often numerous medication rounds to be made which can make it very challenging to deliver medication on time every time,” he said.

Easy-to-use website

Also picking up a gold award is  Liquid Interactive, which has been recognised in the digital
web design and development category for redesign of the My Aged Care website.

The website redesign, which was done in collaboration with the Department of Health and hundreds of older Australians and their families, commenced in 2018 as part of the government’s aged care reform measures.

The website provides information to older Australians, their families and carers on government-funded aged care services.

Liquid Interactive customer experience director Fiona Armstrong said the website offered a simple, supportive, intuitive and empowering online experience.  

“Listening to older Australians and their families we understood why the fear of losing your independence was driving people to struggle independently for as long as possible rather than reach out for support,” Ms Armstrong said.

“We could see the pressure and anxiety families feel when events force them to take action. And how a lack of awareness about the options available and complex systems made it all too difficult,” she said.

The website’s new apply online service is an example of what a government service experience should look like, Ms Armstrong said.

“We’ve taken a complex set of processes that required assistance from a GP or contact centre advisor, and co-designed a new fully digital service that’s really easy for anyone to use,” she said.

Read Liquid Interactive managing director Michael Burke tips optimising digital service delivery here.

Making a social impact

Uniting Communities’ U City development has also picked up a good design award in the social impact category.

The inclusive vertical village in the heart of the Adelaide CBD is mixed-use development that brings together retirement living, specialist short and long stay disability apartments, function centre, commercial, retail and hospitality outlets, and social services suites.

Good Design Australia CEO Dr Brandon Gien said “receiving a Good Design Award is a significant achievement given the very high calibre and record number of entries received in 2020.”

He said the projects in this year’s awards shine a positive light on creativity and innovation.

See the full list of awardees here.

Comment on the story below. Follow Australian Ageing Agenda on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter and subscribe to AAA magazine for the complete aged care picture.