Queen's Patient and Provider Voices

Written by Elle Tencer If you have ever visited an emergency department and seen patients on stretchers lined up in corridors, you have already seen the reality behind the phrase hallway medicine. In simple terms, hallway medicine happens when hospitals cannot move admitted patients out of the emergency department into inpatient beds, so care spills into hallways and other spaces that were never designed for treatment (Ontario Ministry of Health, 2019) . It is not just uncomf

Written by Katie McCudden If you have ever tried to find a family doctor and been told that no clinics are accepting new patients, you have already experienced the reality behind Canada’s primary care crisis. In simple terms, the family doctor shortage refers to the growing gap between the number of people who need ongoing care and the number of physicians available to provide it. Today, millions of Canadians, including over 2.5 million people in Ontario, do not have access t

Written by Sophia Mulak For years healthcare decisions were being made for patients instead of with them, patient and family advisory councils (PFACs) are working to change this. PFACs first started being formed in North America in the 1970s and have become increasingly more common in the healthcare community (Patient Experience Journal, 2021). These councils consist of patients, family members, and caregivers of patients. They are vital to the healthcare community because t