Participant, Alternate Level of Care Rapid Process Improvement Workshop, Royal Inland Hospital

Have you had a recent experience at Royal Inland Hospital where you or a family member could have been discharged earlier? You are invited to help simplify the discharge process for Alternate Level of Care patients and ensure the transition to home is efficient.

Open to: Patient partners in the Kamloops area

Lead Organization or Department

Interior Health - Lean Promotion Office

Aim

During this Rapid Process Improvement Workshop we will be looking at barriers to discharge for Alternate Level of Care (ALC) patients. These are patients who do not need the acute services of a hospital but can't be discharged for reasons that may include a need to set up appropriate home care services and equipment, wait times for further testing, homelessness and many more. We would like to involve a patient or family member of someone who has recently had an experience at Royal Inland Hospital and, potentially, could have been discharged earlier if the barriers to discharge might have been removed faster.

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 or family member of someone who has recently had an experience at Royal Inland Hospital and, potentially, could have been discharged earlier if the barriers to discharge might have been removed faster.
• Comfort in discussing their experience with 15-20 health care professionals from various disciplines who are working to improve this area of care.
• 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 the engagement leader directly.

Logistics

• Vacancies: 1
• Format: In-Person at Royal Inland Hospital, in Kamloops
• When: November 6 - either the whole day (8 am - 4 pm) or 12:30 pm - 4 pm (minimum)

Reimbursement

Food will be provided at the workshop and parking will be paid up-front or reimbursed.

Background

Rapid Improvement Workshops (RPIWs) are often used when there are large pieces of work to be done, particularly if the process crosses several departments or work streams.  The use of these focused events in healthcare was pioneered by organizations such as Virginia Mason. There are now many examples of the use of RPIWs in health care, including examples in children’s services and mental health services, as well as in laboratories, surgery and medicine. There is a good Canadian video which follows the process of an RPIW. The precise structure varies, but in general, there is a preparation period for the RPIW. During this time, which usually lasts around six weeks, information is collected on the service that is the focus of the work. Much of this will be by direct observation of the service. If the process being reviewed involves patients, then this stage will include following patients, with their permission, in an attempt to understand their experience of the process. Information may also be collected from electronic systems, or by observation, on activity and waiting times. Click here for more information.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jacquelyne Foidart
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Thompson Cariboo
250.879.1077
jfoidart@bcpsqc.ca