Here’s why your hospital needs 24/7 visiting hours for better patient outcomes

When a member of your family is in the hospital, you’re at their side until the nurse says it’s time for you to go home.

But experts behind an initiative to expand family visiting hours at hospitals say that 24/7 family time leads to better patient outcomes, fewer medication errors, shorter hospital stays and even lessens the chance of being readmitted to the emergency room.

“There’s good evidence out there that shows that encouraging family members to be partners in care can benefit patients, their families and the health care system,” Stephen Samis, the vice president of national programs at the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) told Global News.

“But despite clear evidence of all these advantages, family presence policies are still an exception and not the rule,” he said.

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READ MORE: Why Canadian hospitals are getting rid of visiting hours

The CFHI is calling on Canadians to push for their hospitals to have 24/7 access to designated family members. It’s a movement that’s slowly making its way across the country, according to the organization’s data.

Right now, 50 Canadian hospital and health care organizations are carving out around-the-clock visitation for family members. Health officials in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island have committed to rolling out province-wide family presence policies.

Those are major strides, Samis said. In 2015, a CFHI study found that fewer than one in three Canadian hospitals had accommodating visiting policies, and even fewer offered 24/7 access to designated family members.

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When a loved one is at a hospital patient’s side, they can make the experience more enjoyable, Samis said. They help with double-checking medication, leading to fewer mistakes. They also learn more about their loved one’s condition from nurses and doctors checking in, making the transition to home life seamless.

Patients who have a loved one assisting them throughout their hospital stay end up spending less time in hospital and they’re less likely to turn up again in the emergency room, Samis said.

“It’s like having an extra set of ears and eyes to look out for you and be a voice for you when you need it most. Sometimes patients feel like they can’t advocate for themselves or aren’t sure what’s happening,” he explained.

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So why the hesitancy? Samis said hospitals may be reluctant because they worry about noise disturbance to patients or interrupting staff and their medical care.

So far, these concerns haven’t materialized in the hospitals that have rolled out 24/7 access to family care, he said.

“It’s a fear of change, it’s a culture shift for many places that they’d have to adjust to,” he said.

Read more about the Better Together campaign CFHI is working on.

See if your hospital offers 24/7 family care time here.

carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
Follow @Carmen_Chai