Become a Patient and Family Advisor

At Brockville General, the needs and wants of patients, their family members, and caregivers are a top priority in every step of a patient’s journey. Patient and Family Advisors provide an important perspective and have a direct impact across a wide range of hospital initiatives, programs, services, and policies to improve the experience of care.

What is a Patient and Family Advisor?

A Patient and Family Advisor is someone who ensures the voice of the patient and family is heard and influences planning and decision making on issues affecting patient care.

Patient and/or Family Advisor is a person who:

Has had a recent experience (generally within 3 years) of being a patient or is the family member of a patient.
Works with the hospital for either short or long term commitments in program councils, or projects.
Provides valuable feedback to the hospital based on their own experiences as a patient, or their experiences as a family member of a patient.
Volunteers their time for 1 to 4 hours per month.

Patient and Family Advisors work in partnership with the hospital to create a truly patient and family-centered care environment and practice.

We are currently recruiting advisors to participate in our program councils. If you have had recent experience in these areas, we want to hear from you!

Become a Patient Experience Advisor!

For more information about becoming a patient/family experience advisor:

Call the Patient Engagement Specialist at (613) 345-5649 ext. 51287.
Email: BGHPatientExperience@brockvillegeneralhospital.ca

Although you do not require any specific qualifications to be an advisor, this role may be a good match with your skills and experiences if you can:

Speak up to share suggestions and potential solutions to help improve hospital care for others.
Talk about your experiences as a patient or family member, but also think beyond your own personal experiences.
Talk about both positive and negative care experiences and share your thoughts on what went well and how things could have been done differently.
Work with people who may be different than you.
Listen to and think about what others say, even when you disagree.
Bring a positive attitude to discussions.
Keep any information you may hear as an advisor private and confidential.

In addition to our Patient and Family Advisory Council, we are committed to growing our team of Patient and Family Advisors to ensure the patient and family’s voice is heard throughout the organization in a variety of ways. Some examples of how Patient and Family Advisors help us to enhance care include:

Sharing your story with us: help staff and physicians understand your hospital experience.
Review or help create educational materials: help to create patient education material, forms, and handouts in a way that is easier for patients and families to understand.
Participating in discussion groups: tell us what it’s like to be a patient at our hospital and how we can improve our services.
Partnering with staff on a variety of projects to help improve hospital services: participate in projects that impact patient's hospital experience.
Serving on the hospital's Patient Family Advisory Council.

Join our Patient and Family Advisory Council

Brockville General’s Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) is comprised of former patients or family members of patients who have received care at our hospital, along with staff members. The council is co-chaired by a Patient Experience Advisor and a staff member. PFAC serves in an advisory capacity, making recommendations on matters impacting the experience of patients and their families at Brockville General.

Our PFAC is dedicated engaging with the hospital to enhance patient- and family- centered care at Brockville General. We serve as advisors to the hospital bringing forward the patient and family caregiver voice. We encourage you to share your experience.

Share your experiences

What is patient and family-centred care?

Patient and family-centered care is an approach to the planning, delivery, and evaluation of health care grounded in mutually beneficial partnerships among health care providers, patients, and families, when appropriate.

The goal is to ensure decisions respect patients’ needs, values, and preferences. Supporting a culture of patient and family-centred care at Brockville General ensures our staff recognize the vital role families play in ensuring the health and well-being of patients.

We are dedicated to continuous improvement your heath care experience. Creating a patient and family-centred care involves:

Excellence in care
Communication
Involvement

Please note, the role of a Patient and Family Advisor and the Patient and Family Advisory Council is to constructively partner with the hospital on programs, policies, and projects that strive to work towards a better experience for all patients, caregivers, and families. During this experience, we encourage you to share your ideas and experiences, but it is not intended to address individual complaints or concerns.

If you have questions, please contact our Patient Experience Specialist by email or by calling 613-345-5649 ext. 51287

Do you have a compliment or concern?

Compliments and concerns can be shared by contacting the Patient Relations Office by email or by phone at 613-345-5649 ext. 51287