Patients have confidence in the quality of care at The Scarborough Hospital believing the ideal patient experience includes involvement in their care plan and receiving respectful, courteous and friendly service.

These are some of the findings of an extensive community consultation process aimed at defining an “ideal patient experience” and assisting the hospital with its Clinical Action Planning Process, which is designed to create a stronger hospital for the residents of Scarborough.

To define the ideal patient experience, The Scarborough Hospital consulted with patients and those who had experience with the hospital, including friends and family members of patients. This was accomplished through a series of face-to-face meetings, a patient mapping study, focus groups and various online surveys. In total, 2,885 respondents provided input.

“This was an exciting process for us. The Scarborough Hospital’s mission is to provide an outstanding care experience that meets the unique needs of each and every patient. We can’t provide that without engaging our community in the process,” says Anne Marie Males, Vice President, Patient Experience. “This truly was a unique experience that started with the patient and focused on the patient experience throughout.”

“Historically, we’ve worked in silos when planning for the future. But this time we invited patients, members of the community and a variety of hospital employees and physicians to work together to determine the direction we should take in 11 specific areas,” says Dr. Steven Jackson, Chief of Staff at The Scarborough Hospital. “We learned that what the doctor thinks is most important isn’t always what the patient thinks is most important.”

Those 11 areas – from children’s health to cancer care to women’s health – each had a planning team that was given relevant and typical patient scenarios including:

Scenario 1: Ramjeet is a healthy 4-year-old who developed a fever two days ago. His mother is concerned and is taking Ramjeet to the emergency department.

Scenario 2: Brian is 75, and does not speak English. He is diabetic and in danger of losing his right leg. He does not want to start hemodialysis.

Scenario 3: Dorinda is a 44-year-old single mom with a terrific 14-year-old daughter and a great job. The daughter of a breast cancer victim, Dorinda confronts her fears and gets a mammogram. Three weeks later, Dorinda receives a call; her results are abnormal.

By starting with these typical patient scenarios the planning process ensured that the patient’s needs and wants were top priority. Each planning group has developed a series of recommendations that will be presented to stakeholders for feedback at a Consensus Summit on October 26. That feedback will help determine which of the recommendations will be implemented.

The report, Reflections on the Ideal Patient Experience, which includes key findings of the consultation process, is available at: www.tsh.to/pages/Reflections-on-the-Ideal-Patient-Experience

For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Steven Jackson or Anne Marie Males, please contact:

Tracy Huffman
Communications Officer
The Scarborough Hospital
(416) 438-2911 ext. 6770
thuffman@tsh.to