Family and friends now have more time to visit patients at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
As part of an initiative launched by the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvements, the west end hospital has joined the move to relax visiting hours.
Hospital Spokesperson Bill Marra says the idea works at the hospital because it is a post acute care facility and patients are there longer than in the acute care system.
"For example in our rehab units, patients have an average length of stay of about 35 days and greater than that if you look at our mental health patients," he says.
"We live in a community where there is shift work, we live in a community where people go to school and they have other obligations in life and frankly our patients want the ability to be with family members longer than a one hour or two hour visitation period."
He believes introducing relaxed visiting hours with some degree of control and discretion will improve patient experiences and outcomes.
The changes are effective immediately.
Before the changes, general visiting hours were Monday to Friday from 5-8pm and weekends and holidays from 1-6pm.