Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Public Input Sought As PRH Creates A Bill Of Rights And Responsibilities and Shares Quality Improvement Plans
PEMBROKE – As part of the Excellent Care for All Act (ECFAA) which came into effect in June, 2010, all hospitals are now required to create and make public annual Quality Improvement Plans (QIPs) which include targets for improving the safety, effectiveness, access and patient-centredness of the health care each provides.
In line with this legislation, the annual PRH Quality Plan will be publicly available on the Hospital’s website starting April 1.
As outlined in the legislation, the QIPs must contain a number of change initiatives, measurement indicators and targets for improvement. It also must describe how targets will be achieved.
While many hospitals in Ontario, including Pembroke Regional, already had such plans in place, the new QIP will enable some comparability across the province, and in addition to the required indicators, each hospital has the opportunity to develop its own initiatives based on local healthcare priorities.
The Excellent Care for All Act (ECFAA) sets out a number of other requirements for hospitals that include establishing quality committees, implementing patient and care provider satisfaction surveys, establishing a patient relations process to address and improve the patient experience, and developing a bill of rights in consultation with patients, their caregivers, and the greater public residing in our community.
Strongly committed to respecting the rights of everyone in hospital, a few years ago Pembroke Regional Hospital created a document entitled “Mission, Vision and Values Statement” which is posted throughout the facility and on the Hospital’s website.
To reaffirm the organization’s commitment and enhance everyone’s awareness, PRH has now developed a draft Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. This Bill will help PRH to continue to put patients first and strengthen patient-centred care. These values will help patients and care providers understand what they are entitled to and what to expect during their stay.
“The creation of the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities is a consultative process with the final document to be made publicly available in June 2011 according to the Act,” said Hospital President and CEO Pierre Noel.
“This new opportunity is another way that we can hear from the public regarding the values that are most meaningful to them while in our care,” he said.
To ensure that the voice of the patient is represented in the draft Bill of Rights and Responsibilities, the Hospital is currently seeking public input and feedback by way of a public survey on the proposed document.
The purpose of this survey is to review the statements in the draft Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and determine if changes are needed. Public input is much appreciated and highly valued.
The public consultation process will unfold throughout the month of April with the draft Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and on-line survey available on the Hospital’s website at www.pemreghos.org.
Paper copies are also available by contacting the Hospital’s Public Affairs and Communications office at (613) 732-2811, ext. 6165.
The response deadline is April 30, 2011. All responses received before the deadline will be reviewed and considered in the final version of the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Carolyn Levesque, Public Affairs and Communications Coordinator
(613) 732-3675, ext. 6165 / carolyn.levesque@pemreghos.org
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