Monday, April 25, 2016
Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance
At HPHA All Voices Matter
Every day, clinical and non-clinical staff, physicians and volunteers across the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) make a difference in the lives and experiences of our patients and their loved ones.
April 25 to 29 marks the third annual Patient Experience Week and HPHA will be using this week to celebrate accomplishments, reenergize efforts and honour staff, physicians and volunteers who impact patient experience every day. Patient Experience Week is brought to the health care community by The Beryl Institute, the global community of practice and premier thought leader on improving patient experience in health care.
“This really is a week to show our staff, physicians and volunteers how much we appreciate their hard work and an opportunity to encourage their continued efforts on behalf of our patients and their families,” says Anne Campbell, Vice President Partnerships & Patient Experience. “The Beryl Institute defines Patient Experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture that influences patient perceptions across the continuum of care. This is the definition we have adopted at HPHA and our team really prides itself on providing each patient with the very best of care by supporting and promoting a culture where patients and families have a voice in their care.”
One way the voice of the patient has been incorporated into the way HPHA delivers care and services is through Patient Partners. These former patients and family members work hand in hand with staff across the Alliance to improve the patient, family and staff experience.
“By having patient partners at the table we are able to have the voice of the patient and the voice of the staff co-creating the best possible experience for our patients and their families,” adds Campbell.
Patient Partners at HPHA dedicate their time and experience volunteering in a number of areas, from project and process improvement teams to advisory councils such as Unit Action Councils and the Patient Experience Steering Committee.
One of these patient partners is Cathy Bachner, a St. Marys resident and a former patient on the Critical Unit at the Stratford General Hospital Site. Cathy is a member of the Patient Experience Steering Committee along with being a team member on various projects, most recently the Bedside Transfer of Accountability (TOA) research project.
“In 2014 HPHA received research funding from the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement to explore the best way of implementing TOA at the patient bedside,” says Campbell. “TOA is an interactive process of transferring patient specific information from one caregiver to another for the purpose of ensuring the continuity of care and safety of the patient. TOA is sometimes referred to as Bedside Shift Report. This funding allowed us to pilot bedside TOA on two of our patient care units; the inpatient unit at our St. Marys Site and the surgical unit at Stratford.”
An important feature of this project was the broad spectrum of both patient and staff voices included in the development, implementation and evaluation stages of the TOA process.
As a member of the TOA project team Bachner shared her story about the power and importance of including patient engagement in nurse transfer of accountability at the bedside.
“My medical care journey crossed several hospital sites and units and I experienced bedside shift report on some of these units,” says Bachner. “What I observed was further supported in the research, demonstrating a reduction of the patients’ stress and anxiety levels; an increase in patient safety; a reduction in errors; and a reduction in the number of call bells.”
As an active member of the team, Bachner helped to develop the nurse training sessions and participated in professional training scenarios. She also developed patient education components, stressed the consistent use of patient whiteboards and shared insights in the nurse training and patient videos.
“The feedback we heard from staff was that they were very happy working on this project with a former patient,” adds Campbell. “They told us it really added a personal touch to the project along with the education and training. Her stories certainly hit home to staff about the importance of including the patients in their care and the work that we do as health care professionals.”
“It was rewarding to be a member of the collaborative research team as we worked on the vital and complex task of implementing bedside TOA,” concludes Bachner. "All the way through the process, the project leaders were open to not only hearing, but listening to the voice of all stakeholders and were sensitive to their concerns. It was a positive, respectful and collegial atmosphere that resulted in quantifiable improvements for the patient experience. It was an honour to work with this team of health care professionals."
Media Contact:
Anne Campbell
Vice President Partnerships & Patient Experience
519-272-8210 ext 2318
anne.campbell@hpha.ca
|