Toronto

Committees or councils which include patients and family members are one way for you to become involved in your local hospital. You have the opportunity to provide hospital staff and administrators with a patient or family point-of-view of the institution’s services, and to suggest changes to improve these services and make them better respond to the needs of patients and their family members.

St. Michaels Hospital: Patient and Family Advisors
University Health Network (UHN): Patient Partners Program
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: Odette Cancer Centre Patient and Family Advisors
The Gerry & Nancy Pencer Brain Tumour Centre (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre): Patient & Family Advisory Committee
North York General Hospital: Patient/Family Advisory Council
The Scarborough Hospital: Community and Patient Advisory Council
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: Family Advisory Committee

(Please see below for above committees or councils)

St. Michaels Hospital: Patient and Family Advisors

Patient and Family Advisors

St. Michael’s Patient and Family Advisors share ideas and feedback on the patient and family experience at St. Michael’s, and generate ideas on how to improve the overall experience.

Who can become a Patient and Family Advisor?

Patients or family members of patients who have received care at St. Michael’s within the past two years, and are able to voluntarily attend regular meetings can consider becoming a Patient and Family Advisor.

Activities can include reviewing patient education materials, processes for delivering care and the environment care is provided.

For more information, contact: PFA@smh.ca call (416) 360-4000 ext. 46379.

For more information, please click here.

For the latest information on COVID19 click here.

Heart and Vascular Patient and Family Advisory Council

Our Heart and Vascular Patient and Family Advisory Council provides an exciting opportunity for patients/families to contribute meaningful feedback to St. Michael’s Heart and Vascular program, comprised of leaders helping to investigate, prevent and treat heart disease.

Please contact hvpfac@smh.ca or visit here for more information.

University Health Network (UHN): Patient Partners Program

Toronto General, Toronto Western, Princess Margaret, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute

Patient Partners help shape the care and services offered to patients and caregivers. Through the program, partners will share thoughts and ideas, contribute to patient and staff safety, contribute to organizational change and transformation, work with staff to help improve care and service, learn about the experience of others, and take part in skill-building activities.

A Patient Partner should be prepared to commit to improving care related to the project goals and participate actively in meetings by sharing their story.

The University Health Network is recruiting patients and caregivers who are:

  • Able to attend daytime and early evening meetings;
  • Coping well with their hospital experience;
  • Able to listen well and enjoy working with others; and
  • Willing to talk about their experience, to help shape care and service.

To find out about the upcoming information sessions, please contact them at: partnersincare@uhn.ca or 416-340-5085.

For more information, click here.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre: Odette Cancer Centre Patient and Family Advisors

Odette Cancer Centre Patient and Family Advisors

The role is open to all Odette Cancer Centre patients, as well as their family members and/or caregivers.

The Patient and Family Advisor will help the Odette Cancer Centre ensure that the person’s point of view in the context of the cancer experience is heard and integrated into all service and quality improvements.

Most importantly, the patient family advisors will provide the healthcare and management teams at the Odette Cancer Centre with the opportunity to further improve the patient and family experience.

Email them at OdettePatientFamilyAdvisors@sunnybrook.ca to express interest for the role and request an application.

For more information, click here.

Other Councils at Sunnybrook include:

  • Veterans Advisory Council and Residents Council;
  • Education Advisory Council;
  • Patient Advisory Council for Young Women with Breast Cancer;
  • Nephrology Patient Council;
  • Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Parent Council; and
  • Department of Psychiatry Patient & Family Advisors.

For more information, please email engagement@sunnybrook.ca.

The Gerry & Nancy Pencer Brain Tumour Centre (Princess Margaret Cancer Centre): Patient & Family Advisory Committee

The volunteers meet once a month to provide advice and feedback to the staff of the Pencer Centre. They tell what is being done right, what can be done better and what should be added in the list of programs. Committee members bring vital expertise and perspective to the centre’s activities through their experience as patients, caregivers and family members.

The Patient & Family Advisory Committee helps develop and evaluate all the supportive care and educational materials for people with brain tumours and their families.

The committee’s fundraising activities include the annual Head for a Cure 5K walk. At their annual Open House, they present a moving display that focuses on the experience of living with a brain tumour.

Contact Maureen Daniels, Chair of the Patient & Family Advisory Committee at: 416-946-2240 or Maureen.Daniels@uhn.ca.

For further information, click here.

North York General Hospital: Patient/Family Advisory Council

The Patient/ Family Advisory Council works in partnership with North York General Hospital to ensure that the needs and priorities for patient and family centred care are considered and incorporated into matters that impact patients and their families.

The responsibility is to serve as a partnership resource to management to promote communication, provide input and feedback into education, policy and program development at the program/department level.

Patient and Family Advisory Council meetings are open for any Patient Family Advisor to attend as a non-voting member.

Members are chosen by the Patient and Family Advisory Council. A maximum of 12 Patient/Family Advisors are council members. The term of office is two years with an option for a 2-year renewal. Terms are intermittent to ensure consistency of membership.

No more than 4 staff are permanent members of the council. Other staff are invited to attend on a rotating basis, depending upon the discussion topics. Patient and Family Advisory Council meetings will meet a minimum of 10 times per year, at the call of the chair for two hours in length.

For more information, please click here.

If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact the Patient and Family Centered Care Consultant at patientfamilyadvisors@nygh.on.ca or call (416) 756-6467.

The Scarborough Hospital: Community and Patient Advisory Council

The Scarborough Hospital recuits individuals who have been patients or caregivers of patients to join its Community and Patient Advisory Council. The goal is to improve the patient experience and further advance the commitment to patient-centred care.

As a member you join other patients, family members, and community residents where you will have the opportunity to:

  • Provide input to administrators and perspectives on hospital initiatives to improve the patient care experience;
  • Host and organize two public forums per annum on relevant health care issues for the Scarborough community; and
  • Participate in initiatives relating to the strategic direction of “Patients as Partners,” aimed at improving delivery of care.

The Community and Patient Advisory Council shall consist of thirteen (13) members, each having a vote.

The Council shall strive to achieve consensus on decisions, however if necessary, majority vote will prevail.

Member terms are set to two (2) years, renewable twice for a total of no more than six (6) years. Please review the Community and Patient Council Terms of Reference for a full description.

For more information, please click here.

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: Family Advisory Committee

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital wants your voice, feedback and ideas to make a difference. The committee is a devoted group of parents and youth that represent children and families receiving services at Holland Bloorview.

What they do:

  • Work with staff to promote family centered care, putting children and families first;
  • Help plan, evaluate and improve services, programs and education sessions;
  • Share practical information with other parents and staff; and
  • Provide family perspective on Hospital sub committees.

Meetings are the last Thursday of every month from 7 to 9 p.m. (September – June).

Free parking and free childcare is available in the Ronald MacDonald Playroom.

To join, please contact: (416) 425-6220 ext. 3319 or email: familypartner@hollandbloorview.ca

For more information, please click here.