SBGHC Implements New Family Presence Policy
On Wednesday, July 10, South Bruce Grey Health Centre implemented a new Family Presence Policy.
The Family Presence Policy replaces the current Visiting Hours Policy, which has limited visiting from 2:00-8:00 PM each day. Moving forward, patients will be able to identify their Partners in Care to support them continuously during their hospital stay.
In partnership with the our Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC), a quality improvement project was initiated in the fall of last year to evaluate the hospital’s current visiting hours policy to ensure that it reflected the guiding principles of patient and family-centered care that SBGHC has adopted. A working group with representatives from various areas of the hospital and two Patient and Family Advisors was pulled together to review the visiting hours and identify opportunities to update the policy to be more patient and family centered.
The review identified that restricting visiting from 2:00-8:00 PM put a limit on patients spending time with their loved ones, placing more importance on hospital workflow priorities than what is best for the patient and family. The new policy will ensure that families and other Partners in Care, as identified by the patient, will be welcome at the patient’s bedside 24 hours a day. All other visitors will be welcome between 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM. After 9:00 PM, quiet hours will be observed to help patients get the rest they need.
The Corporate Medical Advisory Council, made up of physician representatives from each of the four sites, the Quality Committee of the Board, the Nursing Professional Development Committee and the Senior Leadership Team have all endorsed the new Family Presence Policy developed by the working group.
“We believe that this change in practice from set visiting hours to open visiting for partners in care will have a positive impact on the experience of our patients while at SBGHC, including improved communication with patients and families, and enhanced quality of life for patients in the hospital,” explains Michael Barrett, President and CEO.
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