Visiting patients now easier in western Newfoundland
Western Health has done away with set visiting hours for its patients, putting in place a system that allows for flexible visits and stays from family and friends.
The health authority's "family presence policy" went into effect Monday throughout its various institutions, from long term care centres to hospitals.
"Family presence can decrease anxiety. It increases the family satisfaction with the hospital stay, it improves communication," said Teara Freake, Western Health's director of patient services.
"Families have information that we don't have, and sometimes your loved one, who's a patient in the hospital, can't speak to what's going on with them."
While Western Health's long-term care centres have previously had fairly relaxed visiting hours, other institutions, such as Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook, have long maintained more rigid schedules. The family presence policy now unifies all the institutions.
Not a free for all
The new policy doesn't mean any visitor can come and go as they please. Rather, each patient's needs and wants will be assessed upon their admission.
"Some people want more privacy than others," said Freake.
"We'll have a discussion with the patient, or family, about your wishes. What do you want for visitation while you're in hospital?"
A patient's visitors will be tailored according to that discussion. Visitors can even stay overnight, as long as they make arrangements ahead of time with staff and get proper passes from security.
Anyone under 14 will need adult supervision and people feeling unwell are asked to stay home. And staff retain the ability to dictate times when patient procedures trump a family visit.
"This gives [staff] the autonomy to make good, sound decisions and communicate respectfully to the patient and their family that we need to provide care — could you step outside? Could you go to the family room, why don't you go have a coffee?" said Freake.
'Hesitancy' from staff
The new policy has been in the works for at least a year and a half. Freake, the lead researcher on the changes, reviewed literature on the topic and checked similar policies at other institutions.
Along with spreading information on social media and collecting surveys, she and others at Western Health went directly to those affected.
"We went to the floors. We spoke with patients and families in the room, who were current patients. We had a focus group. We spoke to the staff," she said, adding staff had numerous concerns, from controlling infections to privacy.
"There was a lot of hesitancy. Even the literature speaks to nursing attitudes being one of the biggest barriers to this."
Freake said staff took part in numerous meetings to iron out policy details, and she feels confident with the changes, pointing to research which shows more family time while in hospital calms and comforts patients, while reducing complaints about the health system overall.
"We know families are an important part of the care team,"she said.
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