Are 24/7 visiting hours at Quebec hospitals on the horizon?

When the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) opens its new superhospital in downtown Montreal next fall, it will have 24/7 visiting hours.

A handful of other health care institutions in Quebec are reviewing or revising their visiting-hour policies to be more welcoming to families — a move that patient advocates say benefits both patients and health care workers.

A report released Tuesday by the non-profit Canadian Foundation For Healthcare Improvement (CFHI) lists several Quebec regional health boards which it says are reviewing or adopting "family presence" policies, including:

• Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-de-Québec.
• Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais.
• Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de la Montéregie-Est.

A spokeswoman for the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (West Island CIUSSS) says her agency is undertaking a similar initiative at the hospitals it administers, which include St. Mary's Hospital, Lakeshore Hospital, Sainte-Anne Hospital and the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

Studies done in the U.S. and U.K. suggest implementing so-called "family presence policies" led to safer and better care, shorter stays, fewer medication errors and falls and a reduction in readmissions, said Stephen Samis, CFHI's vice-president of programs.

"The family members on site become the eyes, the ears and the voice of the patient. They can see what's going on. They can be helpful to the staff in the care process," he said.

And while hospitals sometimes cite the fact that having a constant parade of visitors can be noisy, disruptive or even lead to infection, Samis said that's not necessarily the case.

Hospitals with the policies report increased staff satisfaction and no increase in infection rates. As for the noise, staff members still have the right to ask those who aren't being respectful of all patients to leave.

Flexible policy at MUHC

At the MUHC, visiting hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., but there is flexibility depending on the patient population and nursing needs, according to spokesman Ian Popple.

Rooms at the Glen were designed so that family members could stay the night, which does happen in many areas of the hospital, including the children's units, the birthing centre and haematology/oncology, among others, he said.

"The flexibility is built into the system so that certain departments can allow for 24/7 visits when it works.... So there's no need, necessarily, to change the policy we have," he said.

Therapeutic benefits, better care

Paul Brunet, chair of the Council for the Protection of Patients, said apart from the therapeutic effect of having family members close by, the more often a patient has visitors, the better the care they're likely to receive. 

"It's always good for the patient, for the family and for the personnel to know that person is visited, is not alone, and there's no way [staff] can take shortcuts in terms of treatment or other services," he said.

While Brunet applauds the idea of longer visiting hours, he said hospitals should lower parking fees so that visitors can spend more time in hospital with their loved ones.

So far, 50 institutions in Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia, have signed on to CFHI's campaign to implement more family-friendly visiting hours.