PATIENT CARE COMMITTEES
By becoming more informed and involved, you can be part of the solution and success in addressing the issues that affect you at work and that affect doctors in general.
DOCTORS COUNCIL SEIU PATIENT CARE COMMITTEES
Doctors Council SEIU strives not only to improve and protect the wages and benefits of our doctors through a good contract. We also endeavor to address working conditions and patient care. We believe that doctors should have more of a real voice in patient care decisions. To that end, we have bargained into most of our contracts a Patient Care Committee that requires administration and management to meet with representatives from each department and to address patient care issues.
Our Patient Care Committees have been meeting and have already made strides in improving patient care. For example, patient care issues such as staffing, case/work load, and equipment and machinery have all been addressed. Charting, coordination with ancillary staff, clinic bookings and scheduling and on-call coverage have also been discussed.
Read more about Patient Care Committees.
If you have patient care concerns, please complete and return the Patient Care Survey.
Listed below is a sample of what one of our contracts states in requiring a Patient Care Committee. If you would like to participate in a Patient Care Committee, please email us or call Doctors Council SEIU at 212-532-7690.
PATIENT CARE COMMITTEE
The Employer and the Union agree that quality and safe patient care is the primary goal of both parties, and that this is best served when doctors have a voice in patient care issues, such as staffing, case/work load, ancillary support, equipment and planning decisions, and a forum to meet with administration and management on an on-going basis to ensure quality and safe patient care. To that end, the parties hereby agree to establish the Patient Care Committee and further agree as follows:
1. The Patient Care Committee shall be established consisting of representatives of the Employer and Employees from various departments within the bargaining unit, appointed by the Union, with the following objectives:
- To work toward the improvement of patient care and to recommend ways and means to improve patient care;
- To develop a method of classifying patients according to acuity of illness;
- To address problems and concerns related to staffing and case/work loads;
- To review and address possible concerns regarding patient flow as it impacts patient care;
- To review equipment and machinery;
- To analyze and discuss the recruitment and retention of staff;
- To discuss other concerns of mutual interest as they relate to patient care; and
- To discuss administrative matters, policies or practices which have an effect on patient care.
2. The committee shall meet monthly for at least an hour. Committee members shall be paid for time spent in the meetings provided for in this Article and such time shall be counted as time worked.
3. Any recommendations arrived at shall be promptly forwarded, in writing, to the Medical Director in his/her capacity within the Hospital's Performance Improvement Committee, who shall review the commendations and provide the committee with a written response within thirty (30) calendar days with regard to such recommendations.
4. Employees are encouraged to discuss, report and speak about patient care concerns and no Employee shall be disciplined or retaliated against for doing so and/or for cooperating in the investigation of same.