Maria Middelares General Hospital and the Saint Vincent General Hospital in Deinze make the patient the focus with a declaration of intent to be a 'Self-Help Friendly Hospital'

During the kick-off event 'Cooperation with patient organisations' on Tuesday evening, 10 May, the Maria Middelares General Hospital and the StVincent General Hospital in Deinze signed a declaration of intent to cooperate with the venue 'Zelfzorg'. With the ‘Self-Help Friendly Hospital’ project, the partners are committed to structural collaborations with patient associations in order to put the patient's voice at the centre.

The project hopes to further optimise continuity and quality of care by bringing the voice of the patient and family or informal caregiver into care. For hospitals, however, it is often quite tricky to know how best to do this in practice. Patient associations, for their part, are often in demand to further publicise their association and to become stronger.

The organisation 'Trefpunt Zelfhulp' supports the partners in their efforts to build sustainable cooperation by providing advice, support and intervision. The declaration of intent constitutes a best efforts commitment and formulates the objectives, practices and commitment of both parties.

Together at the table

At the joint kick-off event, interested specialisms and patient associations will jointly examine how they can make the collaboration a success, so that patients can count on expert support tailored to their situation at any time during their course of treatment.