Set visiting hours ended at AHS facilities in Calgary

Hospitals open for family members at all hours The AHS has abolished visiting hours for family members, allowing them round-the-clock visitation rights. Kevin Green reports.

Calgary — Since late October Alberta Health Services has been quietly doing away with set visiting hours at all its Calgary-area inpatient facilities.

It is part of a move to recognize the role family plays in patient health and safety. AHS says family should be included as an essential member of a patient’s health-care team.

Seventeen-year-old Kael Bernard has been in the Foothills hospital since being injured in a car crash in October. Since then, his family has had unrestricted access to visit him.

"It feels great. it’s almost like if you're in the hospital … you're disconnected from the outside world. It's kind of like reconnecting to the outside world," said Kael. "It just feels like a warmth, like they're concerned they care obviously. So it's nice to feel that like."

Kael’s father Tim Bernard said unrestricted visiting hours helps ease the family’s peace of mind.

"I couldn't see doing it any other way, actually. It's one thing for a person to get ill or in an accident to have to go to the hospital, but to layer another part on top of it where you cannot see your family fulltime — it seems almost cruel," he said.

Research shows family members and friends can play an important role in helping patients, both physically and emotionally, during their stay in hospital.

Benefits include decreased anxiety, improved communication with the care team, and enhanced emotional support.

"They act as an extra set of ears, set of eyes and also an advocate," said Paul Wright , AHS director for patient and family-centered care, patient safety and quality improvement for Calgary.

"We also know through the research that by having families president, we can reduce the number of falls that we have in our hospitals, we reduce the number of medication errors we have as well by having that second person to check."

Visiting hours based on care needs

Rather than the "old school" notion of rigid, pre-set times allotted for seeing patients in hospital, visiting hours will now be based on the wishes and care needs of the patient. Adjustments to visiting hours for individual patients will be planned in collaboration with the patient, their family, and their care team.

"I think it makes sense. I mean, for a lot of our patients, they're not able to do things for themselves or speak for themselves. And so family is that voice and they're learning how to do the things that they're going to need to do on discharge to be able to help," said nurse clinician Jill Congram.

"Having family here, they're not necessarily visitors. They're just an extension of their loved one that's lying in that bed."

In addition to the change to visiting hours, AHS now defines family in a broad context, including not only relatives, but also other people a patient is close to, like friends, informal caregivers or legal guardians.

Changes to visiting hours are now in effect in all Calgary hospitals, meaning patients in hospital through the Christmas season have more opportunity to be with their loved ones.