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 UPCOMING LAUNCH: Safe Medication Use and How you can help engage consumers! click here for more information
Putting the "Patient" in Patient Safety The Direct Involvement of Patients in the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority’s safety improvement efforts has been a cornerstone of our Regionally Integrated Strategy since its inception at the beginning of 2005. Through experiential learning in the formation and subsequent evolution of our original Patient Safety Advisory Council (2005-2008), we have two newly created streams of direct involvement for patients, families, and members of the general public to inform WRHA patient safety efforts towards the reduction of preventable harm. Patient Safety Coordinating Committee The Patient Safety Coordinating Committee (PSCC) is a newly formed committee in the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA). A maximum of eight members will serve on this committee for a fixed period of time. Committee members include patients, family members and interested members of the public. This group will decide the projects and initiatives that a larger group, called the Patient Safety Action Network (PSAN), works on. PSCC members will work together with the Chief Patient Safety Officer (Dr. Rob Robson) to promote & support healthcare system safety values and processes throughout the WRHA. This group will work to formulate projects and initiatives that build respectful relationships between patients, families, health professionals, health administrators and the community. In this area, PSCC will welcome involvement and input from other similar facility-based or program-based patient/family/resident advisory groups. In order to decide which projects and initiatives fit within the Regionally Integrated Patient Safety Strategy (RIPSS), it is important for members to understand the scope of patient safety. Not all of the ideas members bring for discussion fit within the mandate of the Patient Safety Team at the WRHA. The focus of the committee’s work is not specific personal or individual cases or causes. Rather, it is to assist Dr. Robson and the WRHA in helping the healthcare system to learn from Critical Incidents and make system-focused patient safety improvements. System changes take time and considerable patience on the part of those involved. Members will work together in a respectful manner with not only each other but also the Patient Safety team members responsible for providing direction and support. Patient Safety Action Network The Patient Safety Action Network (PSAN) is also a newly formed network. This network will grow and evolve as the PSCC introduce new initiatives and projects. The support and direction for PSAN members come from PSCC members and the WRHA Patient Safety Team. Members of this network need to be comfortable taking directions from the PSCC and the WRHA Patient Safety team. This network will appeal to those people who enjoy taking ideas and putting them into action by working collaboratively to get a task done. It is important for those considering the Patient Safety Action Network to possess strong collaboration skills and the ability to work with differing personalities and work styles. When potential members are interviewed they can indicate their area(s) of interest. It will be helpful for potential PSAN members to know that the mandate of the WRHA Patient Safety Team is learning, educating and making system wide changes as a means of reducing preventable harm for patients receiving services from the WRHA. Thus the initiatives and projects that PSAN members will be working on will not be focused on personal or individual causes, but rather broad healthcare system improvement changes within the WRHA.
Updated: June 2009
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