The Real-Time Virtual Support team from the Rural Coordination Centre of BC is excited to share our newly released vision and mission.

The vision and mission are part of a new, goal-focused RTVS strategic plan which will guide the program for the next five years.

Consultation was a vital step in the plan’s creation, with the structure of the plan built around feedback collected from two surveys. An internal survey went to all RTVS staff, all RTVS providers and RCCbc leadership. A partner survey was then sent to Ministry of Health and health authority partners.

How can we help?

Among the themes that emerged from the consultation was the desire to maintain the RTVS culture of “how can I help?”

The creation of this strategic plan will ensure that all team members are aligned on priorities. This focus will allow RTVS to support the Ministry of Health and other partners in achieving organizational improvements and system design efforts that build capacity.

RTVS, which delivers timely, compassionate and culturally safe support for rural providers, has experienced exponential growth since it was launched in April 2020.

It has been a vital safety net for providers in rural, remote and Indigenous communities and helps health partners:

• strengthen access to services,
• improve patient care and team-based support,
• enhance health equity for Indigenous communities, and;
• retain, redesign, recruit and train a strong health workforce.

100,000th call

The program recently marked its 100,000th call for support across all of its instant access pathways. These include the CHARLiE (Pediatrics), MaBAL (Maternity), RUDi/VERRa (Emergency) and ROCCi (Critical Care and Internal Medicine). These calls range from physicians asking for a second opinion on a complicated case, all the way up to nurses calling for support to resuscitate a sick patient.

There have also been a growing number of calls to our Quick Reply and Consultation to Conversation pathways, which offer specialist support and three-way video consultations between patients, primary care providers and specialists.

In order to discuss the results of the consultation and to hone the feedback into a structured strategic plan, members of the RTVS team gathered in Vancouver on October 15 and 16. The team mapped out a new vision and mission statement and reaffirmed core values. The program has also developed five strategic priorities.

Next chapter

RTVS Director John Mah said: “We are grateful for everyone who contributed to this project. I am confident that this strategic plan will smooth the way for RTVS to succeed as it enters its next chapter.”

Dr. John Pawlovich, co-medical lead of the RTVS program, said: “RTVS continues to be a much-needed service for rural providers, and an important part of the province’s efforts to recruit and retain a health workforce in rural, remote and First Nations communities.

“Our new strategic plan affirms what we have always strived to be – a kind, culturally safe and rural-focused team here to support communities at the edge.”

Looking ahead

The planning session also opened space to look ahead.

With continued growth expected, a discussion took place about what RTVS might look like in the future—RTVS: A Hybrid Health Network for Rural and First Nations Communities.

The team envisions an even more closely integrated suite of services available to all rural providers. This service will provide coordinated care that will enhance, and not replace, the care provided by on-the-ground teams.

Next steps

The next steps will see the team creating detailed clinical and operational workplans to ensure there is synergy and integration with the health system.

There will be regular meetings to discuss the progress of the plan and an annual opportunity to refresh and re-evaluate priorities.

The team will also be releasing more details about the Hybrid Health Network in the new year.

Click here to view the RTVS strategic plan vision, mission, values and strategic priorities.