ON Health needs P/CPs for Provincial Critical & Acute Services Access Committee

[Alies Maybee]

Tell ONTARIO HEALTH what matters to you…

Join our Provincial Critical and Acute Services Access Committee
We are looking for patient family advisors (Patient/Caregiver Partners - P/CPs) from across Ontario to share their insights and experiences with accessing critical and acute hospital care. Your feedback will help identify barriers, improve service delivery, and ensure diverse perspectives are reflected in decision-making.
Advisors will also shape patient-centered care initiatives and strengthening communication between healthcare providers and patients.

What is the Provincial Critical and Acute Services Access Committee about?
This committee brings together leadership from each of Ontario Health’s six geographic regions, clinical programs, and transport medicine* to address issues like coordinating access to specialty services such as neurosurgery or cardiac care. Ensuring access to these services often involves moving patients between hospitals or across regions.
Our goal is to promote alignment and collaboration provincially and regionally to enhance equity and access to critical and acute hospital services for patients throughout the province.
*Transport medicine refers to the specialized field focused on the safe and efficient transfer of patients between healthcare facilities or regions.

Who are we looking for?
We seek individuals with firsthand experience in critical and acute healthcare, including:
• Patients or caregivers involved in intensive care and/or specialized care (e.g. neurosurgery, trauma, vascular, cardiac, organ donation and transplant, renal, or stroke) in adult or pediatric hospitals.
• Individuals who have traveled outside their area of care, including using services like air ambulance.
• Advisors with experience serving on regional or provincial committees focused on system-wide healthcare initiatives.
Ideal candidates help generate ideas, navigate uncertainty, collaborate across diverse perspectives, and engage in respectful, system-level discussions.

How much of my time is needed?
Patient advisors attend bi-monthly meetings, each 60 minutes long, held via MS Teams between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm. Patient advisors may also participate in surveys, focus groups, or other feedback activities. We are looking for a one-year commitment starting in February 2025, with option to renew.

How do I join?
If you would like to take part in this initiative, please click here to access the Ontario Health Patient Family Engagement Portal (initial log in to your profile required) and select “Sign Up” to be considered for selection.

We appreciate your interest in this work. Please note due to the high volumes of responses, we may not be able to accept everyone who signs up for this initiative.

How will I be supported?
We are committed to supporting our patient members by providing comprehensive documentation and a brief orientation training session before our first meeting.
Additionally, we will send meeting materials in advance and offer technical support to ensure a smooth and productive engagement.
Ontario Health may offer a small honorarium in recognition of your voluntary contributions towards this initiative. Honorariums can only be provided to people who do not work for the government of Ontario or with any organization in the broader public sector. Details are available upon request.

We want our health services to meet the diverse needs of all people in Ontario. To do this, we particularly welcome people who are from equity deserving communities, including:
• First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and urban Indigenous populations
• Black communities
• Francophone population
• People living with disabilities
• Communities with geographic disparities in access to care
• Newcomers
• 2SLGBTQIA+ communities
• Other equity deserving communities

[Kim Locke]

@Alies-Maybee Hi Alies, The page that's linked to the "Sign up" link doesn't really look right. Can you post the Sign Up link here in the forum?

Thanks,

Kim Locke

[Alies Maybee]

@Kim-Locke unfortunately that was the link associated. Sorry.

[Kim Locke]

@Alies-Maybee Thanks for confirming!