Patient Education Calendar
Twelve thirty-minute sessions, one for every meeting, chosen by what the month's feedback shows patients most need to know. Outlines, materials, who presents
Foreword
1. The Twelve Sessions
2. Who Presents
3. Choosing the Month's Topic
4. Recording the Session
Annex A — Session Plan Template
Annex B — The Five-Question Discharge Card (handout for session 2)
References
Index
Foreword
Every council meeting ends with thirty minutes of education. The topic is not fixed in advance: the secretariat chooses it from what the month's feedback shows. If discharge is the theme, the session is on discharge. If nine people asked about their invoice, the session is on invoices. This is what makes the meeting worth coming to, and it is what turns a feedback body into a learning one.
This calendar gives twelve ready sessions, each with an outline, the materials, who presents, and the trigger that makes it the right month. A council can run for a year from this document, then repeat with new guests.
1. The Twelve Sessions
| # | Topic | Outline | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your rights as a patient — the seven rights | Access · safety · respect · partnership · information · privacy · feedback. What each means on a ward, with the Patient Charter as the handout. | Any month; always the first session of a new council |
| 2 | Questions to ask before you are discharged | The five questions: what is my diagnosis, which medicines and why, what should I watch for, who do I call, when is my follow-up. Teach-back practice. | When discharge or aftercare is a theme |
| 3 | Informed consent — a conversation, not a signature | What consent must include; the right to ask again; the right to say no; consent for children and for people who cannot decide. | When consent or communication is a theme |
| 4 | Your medicines — names, doses, timing, interactions | Bring-your-bag session: every participant brings their medicines; a pharmacist explains. The medication list card. | When medication is a theme |
| 5 | Hand hygiene and infection — what you may ask of staff | "Have you washed your hands?" is a fair question. What clean looks like; what to do about a visitor with a cold. | Any month |
| 6 | Falls — at home and in hospital | Why patients fall; the bed, the bathroom, the slippers; what the hospital does and what the family can do. | When safety or the environment is a theme |
| 7 | Reading your invoice | What the lines mean, what the state programme covers, what to ask before you pay, where to take a billing dispute. | When finance is a theme |
| 8 | How to raise a concern so that it lands | Facts, dates, names of wards not people, what you want to happen. Practice with the QR form. Why anonymity is allowed and when it limits what can be done. | Second session of a new council |
| 9 | Living with a long-term condition — diabetes, heart, asthma, thyroid | One condition per session, with a clinician: the two things that matter most, and the electronic patient platform for updates. | By members' request |
| 10 | Emergencies at home — when to call, what to say | Stroke and heart-attack signs; what to tell the dispatcher; what to have ready by the door. | Any month |
| 11 | Mental health and the family — asking for help | Recognising distress; where to turn; what the hospital offers; confidentiality. | When psychosocial themes appear |
| 12 | What accreditation means for you | What the ASF seal does and does not guarantee, how to verify it, and how the council's work becomes evidence. | Once a year |
2. Who Presents
| Session | Presenter | Materials |
|---|---|---|
| 1, 8, 12 | Secretariat | Patient Charter; QR form; "How to verify" card |
| 2, 3 | Secretariat with a ward nurse | Five-question discharge card; consent leaflet |
| 4 | Hospital pharmacist | Medication list card |
| 5, 6 | Infection-control nurse; physiotherapist | Hand-hygiene poster; falls checklist |
| 7 | Finance manager | Sample invoice, annotated |
| 9 | Clinician for the condition | Condition sheet; platform registration |
| 10 | Emergency physician or paramedic | Fridge card: signs and what to say |
| 11 | Psychologist or social worker | Where-to-turn card |
3. Choosing the Month's Topic
Look at the themes table in the monthly report. The largest theme, or the fastest-rising one, is the default.
If a severity-3 case occurred, the related topic takes priority (medication → session 4; falls → session 6).
A new council runs sessions 1 and 8 first, whatever the themes.
Session 12 runs once a year, in the month the council record is summarised.
Members may request a topic; a request beats the default the following month.
4. Recording the Session
One paragraph in the council record: topic, presenter, attendance, the three most useful questions asked, and the "one thing I will do differently" answers in aggregate. Handouts are posted in the WhatsApp group and on the facility's ASF profile.
Annex A — Session Plan Template
| Session number and topic | |
|---|---|
| Trigger this month | |
| Presenter | |
| Handout | |
| 0–10 min — explain | |
| 10–25 min — questions and practice | |
| 25–30 min — one thing I will do differently | |
| Attendance (members / guests / waiting list) | |
| Three best questions | |
| Recorded by |
Annex B — The Five-Question Discharge Card (handout for session 2)
What is my diagnosis, in words I can repeat to my family?
Which medicines do I take, why, and has anything changed?
What should I watch for, and what would mean I must come back?
Who do I call if I am worried — name and number?
When is my follow-up, where, and with whom?
Ask the nurse to listen while you repeat the answers back. That is called teach-back, and it is your right.
References
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights, 2nd ed. 2019.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit — Teach-Back Method. AHRQ; 2020.
- World Health Organization. Medication Without Harm — 5 Moments for Medication Safety. Geneva: WHO; 2019.
- Accréditation Sans Frontières. Understanding Your Accreditation — Patient Guide, ASF-PATIENT-GUIDE-001-v2. Paris: ASF; 2026.
Index
Choosing the topic, 3
Discharge card, Annex B
Format, Foreword
Presenters, 2
Session plan, Annex A
Twelve sessions, 1
| Document Title | Patient Voice — Patient Education Calendar |
| Document Reference | ASF-PV-EDU-001-v1 |
| Version / Edition | Version 1 |
| Status | Published |
| Date of Publication | 13 September 2026 |
| Place of Publication | Paris, France |
| Issuing Authority | ASF International Standards Council, Accréditation Sans Frontières |
| Language of Origin | English |
| Effective Date | 13 September 2026 |
| Next Scheduled Review | 13 September 2028 |
| Supersedes | None — first edition |
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