Your Role in Safety

We rely on you and your family members to work with us to make sure the care you receive is safe. You know your symptoms and responses to treatments better than anyone else! You also:

• are highly invested in your own well-being and the outcomes of the care and treatment you receive;
• are always present in your own care, and the first to know or feel when a symptom changes; and
• have insights about your care that providers may lack because they are focused on getting the job done.
  (adapted from Engaging Patients in Patient Safety (PDF)).

How you can work with us to help keep you and your loved ones safe:

Positive Patient Identification (PPI)

• Your safety starts by helping us ensure that we provide the right care to the right person.
• You have a role to play by providing correct and current identification and personal health documents (e.g. MCP card) when arriving for care.
• Your health-care providers will ask questions to confirm your identification (e.g. name, date of birth, next of kin) before providing treatment to you.

N.O.D. (name, occupation and duty)

• Before a health-care provider delivers a service to you, they should tell you their name, occupation and duty (N.O.D.).
• We want you to feel comfortable to ask your provider questions or to express any concerns that you may have.
• If a provider does not tell you their name or what role they play in your care, please feel free to ask them.

Communication

• You have another important role in your care by asking us questions and providing us with the latest information about your health status, symptoms, medications, and other treatments.
• If you are not clear about something, ask for it to be explained again, and if necessary, ask for the information in writing.

Falls prevention

• Eastern Health is involved with a number of strategies promoting falls prevention.
• We all have a role to play in preventing falls. If you are admitted to the hospital, you can do things like keeping your bedside table and belongings (e.g. glasses, walking aids) in reach, wearing good-fitting footwear or anti-slip socks, and making sure that you can reach the nurse call button.
• See our fall prevention page on our Health Information website for more information on what you can do to keep yourself safe from falls, wherever you are.

Medication safety

• We also promote medication safety for you and your family.
• One important tip is to keep a record of all medications (prescription or non-prescription) you take, even vitamin and herbal supplements. You may use this brochure to help you keep track.
• Bringing an up-to-date list of your medications when you visit us helps us to make safe medication decisions with you. We use the medication information you provide as part of medication reconciliation, or MedRec.
• MedRec aims to reduce medication errors by making sure your medication information is current and accurate so that medication changes may be made safely.
• For more information on medication safety, please visit the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada.

Please see the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities for more on your role in safety.