Island Health's Path to Improved Sepsis Recognition and Care

Improving early recognition and management of sepsis is a priority at Island Health. Through the Sepsis Quality Improvement project and thanks to patient partners and dedicated staff and physicians, organization-wide practice change is underway.

After a pilot site launch of sepsis tools at Victoria General Hospital in 2021, tools and supports are being introduced at all acute care sites. Since the launch, the tools have been adapted based on early feedback and more recently to address laboratory and clinical staffing resource challenges and supply constraints, while remaining within best practice standards.

Three preliminary measures were identified to support improvement opportunities:

1. Increase the percentage of sepsis patients with a blood culture.
2. Reduce length of time between presentation and blood culture draw. 
3. Increase lactate measurement. Site level measures are available for clinical teams to track these clinical processes as the new tools are adopted.

Despite the many challenges facing health care delivery today, the dedication to patient safety and quality improvement is demonstrated in this initiative by the entire team including direct patient care and support staff, laboratory and pharmacy staff, physicians and leaders.

BC SUPPORT Unit's Patient-Oriented Research Conference

Registration is now open for the conference! Plus, on March 10 from 10:05 – 10:50, tune in for a presentation from UBC Action on Sepsis about post-sepsis syndrome and their resource pamphlet that is being developed for patients, caregivers and families.

Help Inform the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council's New Strategic Plan
Have Your Say on Improving Quality of Care Can in BC

The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, which administers the BC Sepsis Network, is renewing its strategic plan and wants to know how you think quality of care can be improved in our province. The deadline to share your thoughts is today!

There are two ways to have your say and ensure that the Council’s strategic direction continues to reflect what’s important to British Columbians. You're invited to participate in one - or both - of the following ways:

Want to learn more about how your input will be used in the Council’s strategic planning? Visit its website.

“What Matters to You?” day started in Norway in 2014, with the goal of encouraging meaningful conversations between patients, caregivers, families and their health care providers. It's a simple question that can have a big impact on care. When providers have a conversation about what really matters to the people they care for, it helps ensure that care is aligned with patient preferences, builds trusting relationships between patients, families and their health care providers and advances person- and family-centred care.

"What Matters to You?" can be embedded across multiple care settings such as sepsis care and allows you to engage and work in partnership with patients and their family members. Did you know the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council has created a “What Matters to You?” resource to support communication while wearing personal protective equipment and a pamphlet and guide on culturally safe patient engagement?

Stay tuned as the Council is continually creating and adapting “What Matters to You?” resources to respond to current needs within the health care system and to support care providers in providing care that is culturally safe and free of prejudice and discrimination.

The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council's 
Patient Engagement Learning Series is Back!

This webinar series will provide a one-stop shop to develop skills for authentic patient engagement and bring together health care and patient partners to strengthen their work.

The series will include:

• Culturally Safe Patient Engagement – What Matters to Indigenous Patient Partners | March 9 | 1200 – 1300
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Patient Engagement | April 13 | 1200 – 1300
• Measuring the Success and Impact of Patient Engagement – Evaluation and Closing the Loop | May 11 | 1200 – 1300

A New Home for Long-Term Care Resources
Check Out Guides, Webinars and Information

The COVID-19 pandemic overwhelmingly impacted long-term care (LTC) and assisted living homes in BC, and efforts to improve the quality and safety of individuals living in these homes are needed now more than ever. The BC Patient Safety & Quality Council, together with Healthcare Excellence Canada and additional partners, are supporting improvements through the LTC+: Acting on Pandemic Learning Together Program.

To share this improvement work, the Council has launched new webpages designed to be a one-stop hub for resources, guides and events on long-term care best practices.

Resources are organized into six key categories for easy access: Preparation, Prevention, People in the Workforce, Pandemic Response and Surge Capacity, Providing Quality and Culturally Safe Care and Presence of Essential Care Partners.

Please also check out the patient, caregiver, and family resources for sepsis to learn more about recognizing the signs of sepsis early and to support the prevention and recurrence of sepsis in our LTC population.

Join the Type 2 Diabetes Network

In partnership, the BC Patient Safety & Quality Council and the Institute for Health System Transformation & Sustainability are leading the provincial Type 2 Diabetes Network. The network focuses on sharing, developing and applying innovative, evidence-based population and clinical practices related to diabetes prevention, delay and/or remission as well as improving outcomes for patients with type 2 diabetes in BC. Check out the website to view webinar and dialogue recordings, find resources and sign up for the network to stay up to date for upcoming events!