Patient Experience Advisors

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/or Family Advisor?

A Patient and/or 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 Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Mental Health, and Women & Children's Program Councils. If you have had recent experience in these areas, we want to hear from you!

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

Is being a patient and family advisor right for you?

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.

How can I make an impact?

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

Frequently asked questions

Additional information about patient and family-centred care

• BGH's Patient and Family Advisory Council
• Institute for Patient and Family Centred Care
• Southeast Regional Cancer Program Patient & Family Council

Please note, the role of a Patient & Family Advisor 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 about our Patient Advisor program, please contact our Patient Engagement 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