​​The 77 participants attending the Effective Governance for Quality and Patient Safety Learning Event, recently held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, came to the session with an expectation that they would learn how to drive system change from the governance table. However, after the one-day workshop they walked away with so much more. Participants were encouraged to share ideas and through much lively discussion, generated actions that they could take to improve patient safety in their organizations.

“The participants were focused and you could feel the energy in the room,” says Laurie Thompson, Executive Director, Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety. “You could see the engagement in the quality of the discussions and commitment to improve the culture of patient safety across the healthcare regions.” 

 

Participants attending the third of a three-part series on Effective Governance for Quality and Patient Safety  included board members from the five Manitoba Regional Health Authorities (RHAM) and Diagnostic Services Manitoba (DSM), and a small contingent of senior executives and staff from Manitoba Health, the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (MIPS), and RHAM. The first learning event was held in October 2013, followed by a webinar in the spring of 2014, and a one-day workshop incorporated into a board development day held in October 2014.  In a post-evaluation survey, some 92 per cent of participants felt the content and presentation met their expectations and increased their knowledge of governance in quality and patient safety and 96 per cent saying that they would recommend the learning event to their colleagues.

The workshop included presentations from Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) peer facilitators Joan Dawe (former Deputy Minister of the Departments of Health and Community Services and Social Services/Human Resources and Employment with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador), Ruthe-Anne Conyngham (Board Chair, London Health Sciences Centre), and Laurie Hicks (Board member, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital). The facilitators provided an overview of the driver framework with a focus on the relationships driver, and led application exercises focused on Quality Improvement plans and information and measurement at the board level. A case study was used to summarize and highlight aspects of all the drivers.

“The facilitators were excellent and able to relate to the audience by speaking about their personal experiences,” says Monique Vielfaure-Mackenzie, Executive Director, RHAM. “Their insight made the information very meaningful.” 

 

Monique Vielfaure-Mackenzie, RHAM

The day’s activities also included greetings from Erin Selby (former Minister of Health, Healthy Living and Seniors); and presentations from Paul Vogt (former Clerk, Executive Council, Government of Manitoba) on strategic thinking and Steve Vieweg (Director, Executive Development, Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba) on healthcare innovation.  Board members were encouraged to bring their Quality and Patient Safety Action Plans to the session and to partake in small-group discussions and obtain feedback on aspects of their plans.

“It has been a journey building on the information and what was learned over three sessions to increase awareness of the culture of patient safety and the board’s role,” says Monique Vielfaure-Mackenzie.  “Concrete work was started and continued during each of the sessions that allowed the participants to go back to their regions to finalize their Quality Action Plans. It is a valuable exercise in that the board members had to initially understand what their role is and how they are key to influencing the culture in their region and sharing that philosophy with staff so that it becomes the norm.” 

The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety has worked collaboratively with a number of partners to support building capacity in healthcare organization’s boards for governing patient safety and quality initiatives in regional health authorities and other healthcare organizations. MIPS stepped up to initially pilot the Effective Governance for Quality and Patient Safety program when it was first introduced and since 2008, have supported six governance sessions to augment healthcare board education in Manitoba.

Together, MIPS and RHAM are looking at the program evaluations to determine opportunities for future board governance education sessions that will address the needs of new and existing Board members and continue to move the quality and patient safety agenda forward in Manitoba’s five regional health authorities and DSM.