Participants, Patients as Partners Island Regional Discussion

Access to primary health care services is crucial. You are invited to join a collaborative discussion with Island Health and the Ministry of Health on policies affecting the direction within the health authority.

Open to: Patient partners on Vancouver Island

Lead Organization or Department

Island Health, Patient Experience

Aim

The Ministry of Health and Island Health have partnered to host a one-day workshop that will bring together patients, family caregivers, providers and staff so that together they can identify strategies and approaches the health care system can use to support patients in accessing primary care services and resources, including self-management and self-care programs. This is an engagement opportunity to focus on primary care access generally, and to have specific dialogue around the unique needs of patients accessing care outside large urban centres so that their interactions with the health system result in:

• good health outcomes,
• positive experiences
• and are at a cost we can afford.

Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of collaborate on the spectrum of engagement. The promise to you is that the research partner will work together with you to formulate solutions and incorporate your advice and recommendations into the decisions to the maximum extent possible.

Eligibility

• This engagement is ideal for patient partners who have a keen interest in the Ministry of Health’s strategic direction and discussing provincial policies regarding patient- and family-centred access to primary and surgical care.
• Preference will be given to PVN patient partners who have not participated in past Patient as Partner forums (in Vancouver) and patient partners who have some experience accessing care in the rural/remote setting.

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: 8
• Format: In-person discussion | One full day event taking place in Nanaimo on Wednesday, December 13
• The event will be taking place at the Coast Bastion Hotel in Nanaimo

Reimbursement

All flights (if necessary) and accommodations will be paid for and booked through the Ministry of Health (MoH). Meals, mileage and parking will be reimbursed upon completion of an expense form and submission of original receipts. Please allow up to 8 weeks for processing. Please note: Receipts must be submitted to receive reimbursement

Background

This is one of four Regional Tables being hosted by the Ministry of Health’s Patients as Partners Initiative and health authorities on primary care access. A provincial meeting will be hosted in February 2018 concluding the summary of each of the engagement sessions held around the province. British Columbia needs an integrated primary- and community-care health system that is person-centred, coordinated, seamless and easy to understand for patients, family members and care providers. The whole system of care aims to help people maintain their health, improve their quality of life, stay independent longer and avoid unnecessary hospital visits. It is a system that can only be achieved through collaboration across the health sector. Together, the Ministry and Island Health are working to help physicians and other primary-care providers, such as nurse practitioners and nurses, deliver care that is easier to access and meets patient needs. In this new model, primary-care providers will work in networks with other health professionals to broaden access for patients, caregivers and their families. As mentioned above, MoH Patient as Partners (PasP) would like to reach more people on a regional basis through local conversations. The MoH, Health Authority, contract partners to PasP (Pain BC, UVIC Self-Management, UBC iCON, and Patient- and Family-Centred Care Network) are some of the other patient representatives who will participate. The regional engagement tables will culminate in a final Engagement Summit in Vancouver, to bring together input from participants from each of the regions on the policy consultations and to participate in a review of the work completed by that time. This would allow for dialogue, sharing of input and information, and providing those participants with insights from other regions.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Ryan Sidorchuk
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Central & North Vancouver Island
250.951.4850
rsidorchuk@bcpsqc.ca