(The following was submitted by patient/family advisor – @aircalgary)
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Great conversation about:
- There are no right words (e.g., patient, resident, client). Person-centred care is the point. Family is whoever the person decides he/she wants to participate (or NOT) in his/her care.
- Patient and Family Advisor wisdom shared- always have more than one patient and family Advisor on a quality improvement committee. Sometimes groups just going for numbers of advisors, or stories for tokenism. Look for genuine commitment on part of the committee to really listen and include to patient experience as an equal voice of truth in decision making.
- Some committees are doing great, other staff members need orientation first before they include patient and family Advisors in their work.
- Imagine Citizens is doing amazing work to ensure a clear citizen voice is available to shape healthcare improvements in patient and family centred care.
- Everyone (staff, physicians and Patient and Family Advisors) need support and education to ensure successful partnerships.
- Why can’t the adult world learn about patient-and-family-centred care FASTER from the pediatric world?
- Staff change from within, and public encouragement from outside of healthcare are BOTH required for a big culture change like Family Presence to be successful.
- Caution about using policy to solve communication gaps with families. Families grieve in many ways, ranging from quietly/stoically to very outwardly emotional and excitable. The point of family presence is to welcome families into the care of their loved one through conversation not assumptions.
Many thanks to Sandi, Gail and Tracy for your collective wisdom and encouragement to keep the #FamilyPresence conversation growing!
Will do more planning next week for coffee chats with other dedicated citizens, patient and family advisors who want to spread the word about #FamilyPresence. If you want to organize a coffee chat, get in touch with us on Twitter (@pts4chg) or via the contact form. If you want to make a Change Day pledge, visit http://www.changedayab.ca/pledges/create/. If you want to learn more about #FamilyPresence, check out: https://pts4chg.ca/family-presence-campaign/
@aircalgary
