New Patient and Family Guide unveiled

When patients are admitted to our hospital, they will now be handed a new tool to use during their stay. It’s a revised Patient and Family Guide and it’s been refreshed in several important ways. The biggest change to know about is the addition of new sections where patients and families can take detailed notes about their ongoing care and write down any questions they have for any member of their care team.

“The guide was carefully redesigned to become a much more helpful clinical tool,” says Silvie Crawford, Executive VP and Chief Nursing Executive. “It will now help facilitate better communication between patients, families and our care teams and thereby contribute to our aim of Outstanding Care, Always.”

The previous guide has been in circulation since 2012 and it was in need of some revisions. A working group was set up to review its content and its role. The group included representatives from many different areas of the hospital, as well as Patient Experience Advisors. 

The new guide is now a bit smaller than the previous version at 28 pages and it includes some advertising from community supporters to help offset the costs. The first half of it highlights information about our hospital services and facilities, along with an overview of some of our safety practices and policies. 

The second half starts with a checklist patients and families can use to stay on top of their hospital discharge plan. It’s followed by a section where they are encouraged to make notes and jot down questions about their symptoms, medications, future appointments and test results. 

“With this new guide, we are encouraging physicians, nurses and other members of the care team to proactively check in with their patients on whether they have written anything in their guide that they would like to discuss,” says Crawford. “It’s a change that’s going to empower our patients and their families to share their thoughts and questions with us and that will help us deliver the quality and safe care, and the overall patient experience, they are counting on us for."

Along with the revisions to the guide, there is also a change in how it’s being distributed. Rather than having it dropped off at the bedside by a volunteer, it will now be handed to every patient when they are admitted to KGH by an admitting clerk. This will ensure each patient receives a guide right at the start of their stay at KGH.

The guide will come tucked inside a bigger blue folder. This folder is also designed to be a handy tool for patients as they will be able to use it to store the information sheets, booklets, pamphlets or cards their care team may give to them before discharge.