Yasir Khalid participated in CIHI’s analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on Canada’s health care systems as a patient advisor.
Is this a life-or-death situation? Can your mother speak English?
Yasir Khalid was shocked to hear these 2 questions when he brought his mother to the emergency department (ED) for a suspected stroke in June 2020. This interaction with hospital staff set the tone for what would become a negative and frustrating experience for a family seeking medical help during the first wave of the pandemic.
For the first 2 hours after arriving at the hospital, Yasir was allowed to communicate only with his mother, by phone, and therefore wasn’t able to provide interpretive services or answers to questions regarding her medical history. When the hospital allowed him to rejoin his mother, Yasir was able to get further clarity on his mother’s condition. After approximately 6 hours in the hospital, his mother was released with scheduled follow-up appointments.
I wouldn’t say the care was bad… it was the experience we had in what was a hostile environment [that was bad]. I felt angry, upset, disappointed and worried. — Yasir Khalid
Yasir works in health care management and serves as a patient advisor at Unity Health Toronto. Intimate knowledge of medical terms helped him navigate care for this mother, but he says that more needs to be done to put patients at the forefront.
Clear, respectful and patient-friendly communication is something Yasir said would have contributed to a more positive experience during his hospital visit.
“Loved ones play a very strong role in taking care of patients in the hospital. Ensuring their involvement in care goes such a long way,” said Yasir. “Just an extra 5 or 10 minutes to update patients and caregivers can help reduce a family member’s overall anxiety and help with their mental health and well-being.”
Yasir brought his combined experience as a patient advisor and caregiver to our recent webinar on the system impacts of COVID-19. Speaking alongside health care workers and planners from across the country, he discussed the impact of virtual care on patients, as well as changes he would like to see implemented in future waves of the pandemic.
Yasir is just one of many patients and caregivers involved in our projects, helping to identify priorities and informing health care research. Involving people with lived experience helps to ensure that our work reflects the evolving needs of our health care systems and their users.