PROGRAM TO IMPROVE PATIENT CARE EXPANDING ACROSS SASKATCHEWAN

Saskatchewan is accelerating the expansion of a program that puts patients first by helping health care providers spend more time with patients and families and by improving the quality of care patients receive.

Twenty-two new sites in 18 hospital wards and four community hospitals are joining the "Releasing Time to Care^TM" (RTC) program. This marks the beginning of a provincial rollout that will see all medical and surgical wards actively implementing the program by 2012.

RTC gives health care staff strategies for improving processes, so they spend less time doing paperwork or searching for supplies and more time on direct patient care. On one nursing unit in England, where RTC originated, it more than doubled the amount of time nurses spent with patients.

"This program improves our ability to meet patients' needs and transform their health care experiences," Health Minister Don McMorris said. "It is an excellent example of the personal, efficient, ‘patient first' approach we're working to achieve throughout the entire health care system in Saskatchewan."

The Health Quality Council (HQC) is leading implementation of RTC in Saskatchewan as part of its work to accelerate improvement in Saskatchewan's health care system.

"Releasing Time to Care^TM empowers staff providing care to make changes that will improve the quality of care for their patients," Health Quality Council Chair, and Associate Dean, Southern Saskatchewan Campus for the College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan Marlene Smadu said. "Nurses and other providers want to spend more time with patients. This is the most rewarding part of their work and it is the reason they went into their profession in the first place."

Sites around Saskatchewan have been testing the RTC program since the fall of 2008, and have already achieved promising results.

• The Pasqua Hospital's Orthopedics unit decreased staff injuries by more than 50 per cent in the last six months.
• The Pasqua Hospital's Oncology unit increased the amount of time nurses spend on direct patient care during a shift from 26 per cent to 41 per cent.
• The equivalent of one full time position was saved on the Medical Ward at Moose Jaw Union Hospital, by improving shift handover processes alone.
• An estimated 270 hours of nursing time will be saved by improving access between the IV and medication rooms on the surgical ward of Prince Albert's Victoria Hospital.
• Using staff and patient ideas, Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford is reducing the distance walked annually by staff by about 2,500 km, through more efficient organization and re-location of supplies.

Other sites have shown improvements in communication with patients, patient safety and patient satisfaction with care.

Kim Ebert's husband has had two hip operations in the past five years, the latest one on the orthopaedic unit at Pasqua Hospital. She noticed a striking difference in the care on the ward during his most recent stay. "I saw definite improvements in every aspect of care. The staff and ward seemed more organized, they worked very well as a team, and I could see that they were making an effort to provide exceptional care for patients and their families."

"This program is about staff discovering a different way to lead change," RTC project lead for Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region Sheila Anderson said. "Nursing units participating in the program create ideas from the ground up, using feedback from patients and staff to test, implement and sustain change. Staff identify and uncover the root cause of problems so they can implement solutions that really work."

RTC will be adopted in a variety of areas (including mental health and oncology) and in community hospitals and long-term care facilities. In 2008, the Ministry of Health provided the HQC with $5 million for quality improvement initiatives, including Releasing Time to Care^TM. To date, HQC has distributed $600,000 of this funding to RTC wards in different settings including mental health, community hospitals and long term care.

For more information on Releasing Time to Care^TM, visit the Health Quality Council web site (www.hqc.sk.ca) or view videos by and about participating wards at www.youtube.com/saskhqc.

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For more information, contact:

Karen Hill
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083

Sheila Ragush
Health Quality Council
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-668-8810 ex 113