Patient Experience & Community Engagement

Get involved as a lived experience partner

We want to create a patient experience that goes beyond treating symptoms. We aim to promote healing and wellness by embracing every individual and their family/loved ones with empathy, dignity, and respect. We strive to provide care that is free of racism and stigma.

The principle “nothing about us, without us” guides our work in this area. We commit to involving those affected by health decisions in improving their care and driving health system changes.  

We fulfil this mission in several ways

• Engaging people with lived and living experience in designing, planning, delivering, and evaluating health care and health research
• Leading initiatives on stigma disruption, health literacy, and patient education. Individuals with lived and living experience spearhead these initiatives
• Creating tools and pathways for current patients to share their care experiences with us in real time. We ensure that we act on their feedback
• Engaging people with lived and living experience

At BCMHSUS, we have taken this to heart. We have embedded patient and family engagement in our strategic priorities. Partners with lived experience tell us that engaging with us enhanced their recovery and wellness journeys. 

Eligibility

To be a lived experience partner, you need:

• Lived or living experience of mental health or substance use; involvement with the criminal justice system; or a family member with this kind of experience
• Willingness to share insights and information about your own health care experiences
• Desire to help us improve health care

Learn more here: BCMHSUS Patient and Family Partner Handbook below.

Possible work for lived experience partners

Engagement work can include:

• Taking part in working groups and committees
• Sharing your story to improve training for new care providers and leaders
• Interviewing new staff to make sure we are hiring the right people to serve patients and families
• Giving feedback on strategic plans, program changes, client/patient-facing education materials, and other projects
• Participating in focus groups or one-on-one conversations

We provide training and support to patient and family partners. Then, they work with staff, physicians, and researchers to help design our services, programs, projects, and policies.

Benefits

• Access training, education and support to build your skills (for example communication skills)
• Help improve care and research at BCMHSUS and beyond, by sharing your experiences, knowledge and ideas
• Connect with other patients and families who also want to change things for the better

Compensation

Lived experience is incredibly valuable and deserves compensation.

We provide an hourly payment to patient and family partners for their time and contributions. We also reimburse expenses, such as parking and transit.

Learn more through the Compensating Patient and Family Partners Playbook below. 

Patient and family advisory committees 

Patient and family advisory committees (PFACs) are program-specific. 

Types of patient and family advisory committtees

• Forensic Psychiatric Services
• Adult Mental Health and Substance Use Services including:
  • θəqiʔ ɫəwʔənəq leləm’ (Red Fish Healing Centre)
  • Heartwood Centre for Women
  • Provincial Assessment Centre 

There is also an overarching patient and family experience council for all BCMHSUS. All these committees help steer person- and family-centred care initiatives. 

Committee members share their unique perspectives with health care professionals. It is an important way for BCMHSUS staff, leaders, and researchers to get ideas and insights. They use these insights to guide and develop services and projects.  

Each committee addresses different priorities and projects.  

They all have the following things in common

• Patient and family partners or individuals with lived experience make up at least 50% of the membership
• A person with lived experience as co-chair
• Clear purposes and goals 
• Regular meetings, usually one per month
• A balance between projects initiated by lived experience partners or by staff 

Also, the Lived Experience Advisors and Partners (LEAP) team helps to guide the work of others with lived and living experience. The LEAP team is part of the Provincial Mental Health and Substance Use Network. 

Co-created with patients and families symbol 

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We put this symbol on resources that were co-created with patients and families. The symbol:

• increases the credibility of BCMHSUS materials
• raises awareness of the importance of co-design
• promotes collaboration with patients and families in developing materials 

Learn more about the “co-created with patients and families” symbol (PDF), including: 

• Why BCMHSUS is doing this
• What a patient and family resource is
• The criteria
• What the symbol is trying to do