"Feeling Uncared For and Unheard"

Hello Victorrr33

Thank you for connecting with us to share your experience with one of our Social Workers. We are so saddened to hear that you felt uncared for and humiliated during your appointment. It seems like you are going thru so much and that your situation is very painful and complicated, which must be very difficult for you. You want to feel heard and receive compassionate care that helps your progress, and we truly apologize for the way the interaction made you feel.

Our Social Worker role is to provide resources and to direct people to community supports that can assist them in their unique situations. I can understand how it must have been disappointing to you when the Social Worker was unable to provide you all the supports you required in the appointment itself. As a take-away we can discuss how we might better inform patients in advance of their Social Worker appointment about the role and supports they can provide, so that patients have a better understanding of the service.

I have passed along your concerns to Jackie Aufricht, who is the Program Manager for the Social Worker team. Jackie's contact is 403-701-5619 during business hours, Monday - Thursday between 8 am - 4:30 pm. Please reach out to her if you would like to discuss your experience.

Thank you again for sharing your story and we appreciate your courage in letting us know how the appointment felt for you. We encourage you to reach out if that would be supportive.

Kindly,

Leanne Kiss

Program Manager

Patient Engagement

Hello

In follow up to your original feedback you provided, I am pleased to share a quick update. Your experience was added as a discussion item at a recent social worker team meeting. The team appreciated your comments, and open to discuss ideas to improve appointments. The importance of active listening, empathy, and focusing on hearing and understanding each patients’ unique needs were common themes.

An item being acted on, is that the team is developing an electronic form to send to patients ahead of their appointment to explain the social worker role and set out what types of supports may be available during appointments. We will be taking the draft form to our Patient Family Advisory group to also get patient feedback. Our hope is that this step will help to prepare patients to get the most out of their visit with the social worker.

There is no pressure, but if you have any interest in reviewing the new form and providing input, please reach out to me at leanne.kiss@cfpcn.ca

We are very pleased that we can use some of your feedback to make meaningful improvements that will benefit future patients.

Thanks,

Warm Regards,

Leanne Kiss

Program Manager

Patient Engagement