Our purpose in Patient Engagement at LHSC is to bring our team members and people with lived health-care experiences together as partners and support them as they improve the quality of care at LHSC. Together with our Patient and Family Partners, we help ensure the patient and caregiver voice is embedded in decision-making processes and improvements across the hospital.
What is a Patient and Family Partner?
Patient and Family Partners are people who have been a patient or the caregiver of a patient. By collaborating with our hospital team, Patient and Family Partners provide direct input into policies, programs, and practices to shape patient care and services at LHSC. This collaborative effort aims to create a health-care environment that reflects the needs and preferences of those we serve.
How do we support collaboration with patients?
We support collaboration between Team LHSC and Patient and Family Partners by:
- Educating leaders and teams about patient engagement – working with them to recruit people with lived and living health-care experiences;
- Providing ongoing support to Patient and Family Partners through education, training, and connection to opportunities to work with our teams;
- Working with leaders and teams to launch high-quality engagement activities and develop collaborative relationships with Patient and Family Partners; and
- Evaluating patient engagement activities and outcomes to improve the ways patient engagement takes place throughout LHSC.
What is a Patient and Family Advisory Council?
LHSC's Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) serve as advisory resources to the administration, staff, and physicians of the organization and its programs. A PFAC provides a venue for patients and families to provide input into policy and program development, and to empower staff, patients, and care partners while upholding the highest quality of care. To learn more about our five advisory councils, please visit the PFAC page.
How can I get involved?
To express your interest in becoming a Patient and Family Partner, please fill out our short application form.
To express interest in joining a PFAC or to learn more, please contact Patient Engagement via email at LHSCPatientEngagement@lhsc.on.ca or via telephone at 519-685-8500.
