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Because your voice matters.

Member, Northern Health Website Review Panel for Mental Health & Substance Use content

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Open to Northern Region, Patient partners from across Northern BC

Last updated

Have you ever been frustrated when trying to find health information on Northern Health’s public website?  If you would like to help improve how patients and families can access information about Mental Health & Substance Use services please read on!

Open to: Patient partners from across Northern BC

Lead Organization or Department

Northern Health - Communications

Aim

Northern Health is currently re-developing its public-facing website to be more patient-centered and easily navigated.  The purpose of this work is to ensure that patients can find the information they may need in as easy a manner as possible. The aim of engaging patients at this stage is to identify gaps and challenges in accessing key information and develop solutions to improve access as required.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of consult on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the health care partner will listen to and acknowledge your ideas and concerns, and provide feedback on how your input affected the decision.

Eligibility

  • Patient partners should have experience accessing NH Mental Health & Substance use programs (including community services as well as inpatient/acute services), either for themselves or for a family member.
  • Patient partners should have access to a computer (with internet connection) and be comfortable with basic internet navigation.
  • If you have a strong interest in this work but have not yet completed a PVN orientation and Volunteer Agreement, are unsure if your experience is a good fit or feel another format of engagement would work better with your availability, please contact Cathy Almost or Anthony Gagné directly.

Logistics

  • Vacancies: 2
  • Group will begin meeting sometime in Mid-June 2018, with meetings occurring once every 2 weeks until the work is complete (up to 6 months). Meeting dates and times will be determined by the review panel.
  • Meetings will be held via Web conference/teleconference as required.
  • This engagement will last up to 6 months.

Reimbursement

No expenses are anticipated to be incurred by participating in this engagement.

Background

Northern Health is in the process of re-developing its public website, and has committed to including patients in this process to ensure information is current, appropriate, and easily accessible.  To date, the information on the website has been created, but there is still work to be done to ensure it is up-to-date and located where it can be found by patient partners as required. As part of this commitment and updating, Northern Health’s communications team is seeking to hear from patients and families who have utilized Mental Health & Substance Use services provided by NH to determine what information requires updating and how can it be most easily accessed.  This will be done in other areas of care in the future as well. If you would like to review the existing MHSU information hosted by NH, please see https://www.northernhealth.ca/YourHealth/MentalHealthAddictions.aspx

Health Care Partner Contact Information

 

Cathy Almost
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Northern BC
250.615.9932
calmost@bcpsqc.ca

Anthony Gagné
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Northern Interior
250.961.5156
agagne@bcpsqc.ca

 

From Our Community

Shana Ooms

Executive Director of Primary Care Strategy, Policy and Quality — BC Ministry of Health

Shana Ooms

Where those of us in the room may have debated policy or wording, patient voices made sure patients were top of mind. And as a result, significant improvements were made to simplify something that was otherwise complex. Patient voices at the table bring us back to reality in terms of what we are trying to achieve.