Our Accreditation onsite survey starts today!
Over the course of the week, two surveyors from Accreditation Canada will be visiting different areas of the hospital and can speak to anyone at any point during their visit. These conversations are an opportunity to share the great work that your team does in providing quality care and keeping everyone safe. Our Accreditation team has prepared many resources, including QTips and articles, to support you in these interactions. Information about Accreditation, including the onsite survey schedule, can be found on the Accreditation Intranet Hub.
To wrap the onsite survey, there will be an Accreditation General Debrief on December 9 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. where surveyors will share their findings, recommendations, and the results of the survey. Everyone is encouraged to join virtually on Zoom or in-person in the auditorium (limited seating due to capacity restrictions).
Here are four tips about what to do if you’re approached by a surveyor:
1. Speak proudly about the great work your team does. To ensure your team’s strengths are top of mind, reflect back on the following:
- 2-3 recent improvements your team has made
- 2-3 key performance or quality indicators tracked by your team
- How the patient voice is reflected in your team’s work
- Ways team members can have their voice heard
- Ways we keep everyone at WCH safe
2. Know where to find key information. The WCH intranet is the go-to source for staff resources including hospital wide policy documents, where to submit an IRIS (Incident Reporting and Information System) report and Emergency Preparedness.
3. Don’t be shy about requesting clarification if you don’t understand a question. If you’re approached by a surveyor about a topic that’s not related to your role or if you’re unsure about what they are looking for, here’s what you can say:
- “Can you ask that in a different way?”
- “Can you provide an example of what you mean?”
4. Don’t worry if you don’t know the answer. It’s okay to be unsure about the answer to a question the surveyor asks. No one knows everything. Here are some responses that are perfectly acceptable:
- “I’m not sure, but I would ask my manager.”
- “I’m not familiar with that, but I would check the procedure (or policy, resource, protocol, etc.).”
- “I’ve never encountered that situation, but I would ask an experienced colleague or my supervisor to help direct me.”
Every day, teams across the organization work together to deliver outstanding patient care, engage our patients and community partners, and uphold our commitment to quality and safety. I know the past few years have been incredibly busy, tiring, and difficult, and still, you continually rose to the challenge to keep our patients safe and provide the quality care that Women’s is known for.
Looking to the week ahead, the onsite survey is our time to shine and to speak proudly about the amazing work being done here at Women’s College Hospital. Thank you to everyone for your hard work, collaboration and commitment to our patients and community – you have shown that we are truly stronger together.
For more information about Accreditation, including the on-site survey schedule, visit the Accreditation Intranet Hub. All summarized Q-Tips can be found here.