Transitioning Patients To and From the BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver General Hospital

Transitioning Patients To and From the BC Cancer Agency and Vancouver General Hospital

This award was given to teams at VGH and the BC Cancer Agency (BCCA) who improved patient safety during transfers between facilities by focusing on improving communication through the development of standard forms, checklists and reports.

The difference

Streamlining the transfer process has strengthened the relationship between the two organizations and after three years, reduced patient safety events from 40 over a 12-month period to just one.

What does it mean to be honoured?

“This BC Quality Award highlights the work of our teams as exemplary in BC’s patient safety efforts.” – Darren Kopetsky, VCH Regional Director Client Relations and Risk Management

What’s next?

The BCCA team is sharing these communication processes and tools with other BC health authorities. The VCH team is committed to ensuring that all staff engage in optimum assessment and communication during care transitions.

Team members

Brendan Tompkins, Spine Program; Prab Gill, Professional Practice; Lise Belanger, Spine Program; Nancy Edge, Professional Practice; Lorraine Blackburn, Professional Practice; Darren Kopetsky, VCH Client Relations and Risk Management