March 7, 2012 - PAC’s visit to Kingston last week was a great success. We chose to visit Kingston General Hospital (KGH) because the hospital has dedicated itself to improving the patient experience through patient and family centred care. Members of our governance collaborative had a chance to meet each other and share ideas about how patients can become more active and effective as part of the decision making body in health care organizations.
The first impetus for the patient and family centred care initiative came from staff members of KGH. Eleanor Rivoire, Daryl Bell and Cynthia Philips advocated the idea to Leslie Thompson when she took over as CEO of the hospital in 2009. At the time, KGH was having difficulties - patients were having many poor experiences, and the hospital had been seriously overspent. They recruited a small number of Patient Experience Advisors and introduced a Patient and Family Advisory Council. The idea was that these advisors would begin to participate in some decisions that affected patient services. The results were slow but positive and with steady growth over the last three years, the Patient Experience Advisors have become a permanent and valued contributor to the hospital.
The Patient and Family Advisory Council currently includes 12 Patient Experience Advisors and 5 staff members. It reports to the Quality Committee of the board. There are now a total of 40 Patient Experience Advisors at the hospital who sit on many permanent committees and even more temporary task forces. They have participated in everything from staff hiring to revising admissions handbooks. They are so embedded in the organization that a Patient Experience Advisor was the first speaker at the Annual General Meeting of the Hospital.
Many staff at the hospital have come to feel a renewed dedication to their work because the Patient Experience Advisors have let them see what a difference they can make to people’s lives. The advisors are themselves eager to take on even more responsibility - they think that the changes can come about even faster. The board has taken on the quality of patient experience as a major responsibility. Senior executives are deeply committed to the new way of working.
Our group has learned a great deal from this experience. Most importantly we have seen how patients can become a powerful resource for health care organizations in improving quality of care and the patient experience, helping patients participate in their care, and helping staff members to return to their original motivation in becoming care providers . We look forward to the development of similar patient roles everywhere.