More visiting
Hospitals and other long-term care facilities launching new family presence policies
New policies are making Island hospitals more family friendly; including 24/7 visiting hours to designated family members, friends or caregivers.
Island hospitals are trying a family focused way of treating patients.
Health P.E.I. announced changes to policies on Tuesday making them more family friendly; including 24/7 visiting hours to designated family members, friends or caregivers.
“The goal of our family presence policy is to recognize family, friends and other caregivers as not just visitors but as a support system,” said Marion Dowling, the chief of nursing with Allied Health and Patient Experience.
“Last summer we had applied as an organization to implement the new policy in all of our hospitals and centres where we have patients who stay overnight in beds. It became the question of are we ready to do this, and if we’re not, what can we do to be ready.”
From there, Dowling and other health officials began participating in the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement’s (CFHI) “Better Together” initiative.
“It has definitely helped guide our process and has allowed us to contact them if we have questions of what kinds of policy should be implemented at each hospital and centre.
“We already knew that some facilities were accommodating the patients and their support systems, but the actions didn’t match our policies and the restricted visiting hours were a part of that.”
The Better Together initiative aims to make health care more patient centred and include other individuals in the conversation.
“The program allows the patient to speak with their doctor and designate one, more, or none to be able to visit them at any time of the day and, if the patient wants, be part of the conversation about procedures, treatments or diagnoses,” said Dowling. “This allows loved ones who might not be next of kin, to be involved in the process.”
Patients can also ask for no partners in care or no visitors. “The point of the program is to allow the patient to have the support system they want. So a partner in care has access to 24/7 visiting hours.”
But 24-hour visiting hours doesn’t mean the hospital is open 24/7.
“Our facilities will still be closed and locked and each place will have policy specific to it. Only those listed as a partner in care can come at hours the facility would usually be closed.”
Partners in care can also be changed upon the patient’s request. “Say I were to be away for weekend and my husband was in the hospital, I might be listed as his partner in care but for that weekend he could change it to someone else that way someone can visit him and support him, or he could add another,” said Dowling.
For more information on Health P.E.I.’s family presence initiative, visit www.healthpei.ca/familypresence.