Engagement Strategy
The GHHN is committed to engaging patients, families, care partners, organizations, the community, and primary care in co-designing and transforming the healthcare system at the personal, program, and system levels in the greater Hamilton area.
We know that services, programs, and systems are significantly improved when they are co-designed with those who are using the services. Services are more fiscally responsible, more likely to be utilized, promote ownership of care, strengthen the patient-service provider relationship, and promote a culture of inclusion and diversity.
The GHHN is committed to being open, transparent and accountable, and to engage and empower patients, families, and care partners across all GHHN activities.
Vision
- A healthier community that provides an equitable and seamless continuum of care that actively improves population health and meets the individual needs of our community. A population that is:
Healthier, with lower rates of chronic illness; - Activated, informed, and empowered to navigate the system; and
- Treated equitably
Engagement Mission
The GHHN will form active partnerships with patients, families, and care partners and meaningfully engage them as decision makers in their own care, as well as at the program and system levels. The GHHN is engaging patients, families, and care partners, community organizations, the community and primary care to co-design an equitable and culturally safe health care system in the Greater Hamilton area that is connected and patient centred.
GHHN Engagement Strategy
The transformation of health care in the Greater Hamilton Area is driven by the needs of patients, families, and care partners. The development of the GHHN Patient, Family and Care Partners, Partnership and Engagement Strategy is an integral step in creating an equitable, culturally safe, patient-centered health care system.
The Engagement Strategy sets out the overarching principles needed to guide and embed these essential partners in all work of the GHHN, and will serve as an ongoing demonstration of our commitment to patients, families, and care partners. The strategy also supports a culture and health care system that is connected, strengthened, and patient centered.
To read the full GHHN Engagement strategy please click here:
Patient Family CarePartner Declaration of Values
The purpose of the Patient Family CarePartner Declaration of Values (PFCDV) is to articulate patient, family and carepartner expectations of Ontario’s health care system. The declaration is intended to serve as a compass for individuals and organizations who are involved in healthcare and social service delivery and reflects a summary of the principles and values that patients, families and carepartners note as important to them. It is meant to create a partnership between individuals interacting with the health care system including patient, family and carepartners and those who provide health services. The PFCDV should be used by providers across the health care and social service system in addition to patients, families and carepartners to inform partnership in care.
The GHHN invites our partners to adopt and uphold the following expectations of our healthcare system in support of patients, families and care partners.
To read the GHHN PFCDV please click here:
GHHN Engagement Toolkit
The Greater Hamilton Health Network (GHHN) co-designed the Engagement Toolkit with our Patient, Family, CarePartner Advisors, and our community partners. The toolkit was developed to provide tools and resources to help shape engagement practices that aid us in creating a seamless and consistent healthcare experience and to develop common engagement practices regionally.
This project was inspired by the work of the Algoma Ontario Health Team and their Community Partnership Toolkit. Thank you for your permission to use your work as a foundation in developing our own.
A special thank you to Bonnie Pataran, the patient advisors, and our community partners for your support, guidance and contributions to this project. We hope that this toolkit will be a great resource to help shape and align engagement practices regionally.
GHHN Engagement Planning Template
The Engagement Planning Template was informed by and adapted from the work of Tamarack Institute and The City of Peterborough to support Ontario Health Teams to plan for their engagement activities. The Public and Patient Engagement Collaborative at McMaster University provided input on template content and developed a number of the resources cited for additional support.
The GHHN will use the template to support and ensure that engagement continues to be embeded across all portfolios and throughout governance as teams and portfolios grow. This template will help to create alignment and meaningful engagement planning.
A special thank you and acknowledgement to both Tamarack and The City of Peterborough for their work and permission to use their works to develop this template.
Thank you to the many patients, families, carepartners, OHT colleagues, and community partners who supported the development of this template.
GHHN Engagement Network
The GHHN researched and engaged patients, families, carepartners, and community partners to devise a plan for network engagement across the GHHN as part of our larger engagement strategy.
The GHHN Engagement Network seeks to respect and acknowledge the existing engagement work that is taking place across Hamilton, Haldimand and Niagara Northwest. The purpose of the network is not to duplicate or replace this good work but to develop a formal network where members can invite other engagement/advisory groups to participate in engagement initiatives and projects across the GHHN as needed. The network will also seek to provide support, alignment and broader depth and community representation in engagement work in alignment with the GHHN Engagement Strategy and Health Equity report.
Organizations and patient advisory groups across the GHHN will be invited to join the network and will be able to make requests to other groups as well as be invited to particiapate in engagement initiatives and activities.
Each organization and advisor will have full discretion to decide if they will participate in each offered engagement initiative or project.
Engagement Principles
Engagement Principles are essential when co-designing a system that is accountable and constantly improving. These principles outline the elements needed for the community to work together effectively, respectfully, and intentionally to transform healthcare in the greater Hamilton area. These statements do not stand alone, they work together to form a comprehensive standard for engagement in healthcare.
Empowerment
Partners share trusting, respectful relationships that enable experience, expertise, and perspectives to be clearly reflected in system planning and improvement efforts.
Partnership
Partners are fully engaged in the change process and those in system leadership roles are accountable for embedding this commitment in system planning and improvement efforts.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Engagement practices are impartial and inclusive. The diversity of partners is valued and is representative of the communities served.
Communication
Communication among all partners is timely, clear, inclusive, and respectful.
Accessibility
People with lived experience and their healthcare partners work together to identify and address barriers to participation.
Commitment
Partners are fully engaged in the change process and those in system leadership roles are accountable for embedding this commitment in system planning and improvement efforts.
Ongoing Learning
Participants in patient engagement learn about each other’s perspectives and experiences, the issues at hand, and how the healthcare system may be improved.
Research and Evaluation
People with lived experience and healthcare partners jointly research, evaluate and make ongoing quality improvements in healthcare.