Patient Partner, Delirium Quality Improvement Project – Royal Columbian Hospital

Delirium is a common complication for many hospitalized patients and can lead to drastically longer length of stay, loss of function and possibly death. Royal Columbian Hospital is seeking two patient partners to help develop care strategies for patients experiencing delirium in the hospital.

Open to: Patient partners in Fraser Health communities

Lead Organization or Department

Royal Columbian Hospital Site Delirium Team

Aim

• Develop strategies that will avoid patients developing delirium and support those who are in an active delirium state at Royal Columbian Hospital
• Ensure the patient voice is embedded into the development of a delirium strategy that focuses efforts on what matters to them

Level of Engagement

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

Eligibility

Volunteers from Fraser Health communities who are or have been a caregiver to someone with delirium and/or a patient who has experienced delirium while in hospital. 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: 2
• Date/Time: Bi-weekly, Wednesdays from 12:00-1:00, starting in November
• Commitment: 7 months to 1 year
• Location: Meetings will be conducted by telephone or in person at Royal Columbian Hospital

Reimbursement

To be determined

Background

Delirium is a medical emergency that is often unrecognized, misdiagnosed as depression or psychosis, or misattributed to dementia or old age (Foreman & Milisen, 2004). This contributes to deterioration of physical and cognitive functioning, decreased quality of life and increased costs of care and resource utilization by the health care system. A cross-sectional sampling of inpatients, as well as literature (Maracanto, 2017), have indicated the prevalence of delirium is approximately 30% in acute medical units and those in Fraser Health (Warneboldt, Chorny, O’Connor, Lee and Cumberworth, 2013). As a result, delirium is a patient safety priority for Fraser Health in 2018-2020. Patient safety priorities are important clinical issues that are causing serious and preventable harm to patients in acute care. Regular members include: Unit Managers, CNEs, CNS, OT, Critical Care Informatics (RN), Physician Ad hoc members include: Executive Medical Directors, Pharmacy, Site Director More information about delirium can be found at the following links:

• BC Patient Safety & Quality Council – Delirium Resources for Patients and Families
• Fraser Health Patient Education – Delirium in the Older Adult: A Family Guide

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Jami Brown
Engagement Leader, Patient and Public Engagement | Fraser Valley
604.510.0449
jbrown@bcpsqc.ca