Ben de Lisi, a London-based American designer, has been hired by Britain’s National Health Service to redesign the hospital gown. (To the right, some of de Lisi’s work, Kate Winslet’s gown from the 2002 Oscars.)
This story is more than an excuse to put a picture of Kate Winslet on Smartplanet.
de Lisi is not just creating one cover-up, but a whole collection — pajamas, slippers, and nightwear. He even promises something warm.
The early versions shared with the media feature envelope-style openings in strategic areas, and de Lisi promised the final results will be priced competitively with the current stuff.
Besides “it’s about time,” the move begs a serious question.
Why are the clothes offered by socialized medicine going to be better than what we get here? Why haven’t HCA, or Tenet, or the Mayo Clinic thought of doing this, long ago?
The only new gown I could find for the U.S. market is a “luxury” product called the Dreamie, released in 2005. The URL for Medgowns is no longer active, although it is said to be registered to a company in Bellevue, Washington through this August.
Most gowns are made in China, they are disposable, they cost less than $10 each, and they are butt-ugly.
Hospital gowns are one of the worst parts of any medical examination. They’re embarrassing, they’re cold, they are dehumanizing. You can’t get the back to close for love or money and wind up going about with your bare backside hanging out.
This is part of a program by the Britain’s socialized medicine folks to improve the patient experience in the country’s hospitals and clinics, with commissions of roughly $40,000 each going to a half-dozen architects and designers, including de Lisi.
It’s amazing that this market opportunity has been ignored for so long. Imagine the competitive advantage to the first American company that adopts this kind of product.
What would you like in a hospital gown? I go for warmth and comfort, as well as solid colors.
