Public Forum 2010
Removing Baririers for Recovery - We Listen, We Learn, We Evolve

In partnership with the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Manitoba, the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety hosted a public forum titled REMOVING BARRIERS FOR RECOVERY - WE LISTEN, WE LEARN, WE EVOLVE - A PUBLIC FORUM FOR PATIENT SAFETY IN MENTAL HEALTH at 6:30 pm, May 5th, 2010 at the Sam Cohen Auditorium, St Boniface Research Centre, 351 Tache Avenue, Winnipeg.

This was an opportunity to develop knowledge about the perspective of patients and family members about patient safety in mental health. One in five Canadian will experience a mental illness in his or her lifetime.

The forum was attended by approximately 85 people in Winnipeg as well as participants attending at 12 telehealth sites across most regional health authorities in Manitoba. The forum provided an excellent opportunity for service providers and policy makers to learn from and with patients and their families with a lived experience of mental illness. .

Dr. Ben Thomas, the Director of Mental Health and Learning Disability for the National Patient Safety Agency Department of Health, England and National Health Service, United Kingdom, launched the evening with a brief presentation on his insights and experiences in creating programs and initiatives that have helped guide the agency and make it a world leader in a patient safety in healthcare.

Dr. Thomas has been responsible for producing the Good Practice Guidelines on the Independent Investigation of Serious Patient Safety Incidents in Mental Health; the Seven Steps to Patient Safety for Mental Health; Resuscitation in Mental Health and Learning Disability Services, and Preventing Harm to Children From Parents with Mental Health Needs. He was instrumental in developing the suicide prevention toolkit for inpatient care.

Following Dr Thomas’ presentation, participants in the audience were encouraged to share their perspectives. Annette Osted, Executive Director of the College of Psychiatric Nurses of Manitoba facilitated the session. Participants raised excellent points and important issues related to their perceptions of patient safety and mental health.

The forum launched three days of learning and professional development by psychiatric nurses who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the regulation of the psychiatric nursing profession in Manitoba.

To link to a taped broadcast of the forum, go to http://www.sbrc.tv/1/watch/112.aspx . To borrow a copy of the DVD of the forum, call 927-6477.

Click here to go to the news releases. Click here to view the display posters, tent cards.

A report of the forum will be posted here in the near future, and copies will be available by calling the Institute at 204-927-6470.

The “Removing Barriers To Recovery” forum is the third in a series by the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety called “We Listen, We Learn, We Evolve”. The first forum in November 2007 focused on the importance of disclosure and apologies to patients and their families when adverse healthcare events take place. Patient safety in long term care was the subject of the second forum. The purpose of the series is to give Manitobans a greater voice on a subject that is of interest and importance to the public regarding patient safety in Manitoba’s healthcare system.