I used the term “culturally safe” care. The reason I mention cultural safety specifically is that it places the interpretation of and sense of safety from the patient's point of view. That's a very important distinction. We've talked in the past about cultural competency as a concept of learning about some of the historical factors that affect indigenous people accessing care. That competency is a necessary component to that education for all health care workers, but it's not complete.
Again, cultural safety is a concept that takes that a step further and places the perspective more on the patient's side as far as how they feel in that interaction. It basically means that we have a responsibility as health care providers to make sure that the interactions we have with our patients, the procedures we conduct and the care we provide are all done in a manner that, first of all, helps the patient feel safe, feel cared for and feel free of discrimination. It's a place where they feel they can build trust.
We spend an enormous amount of time, especially early in our interactions with patients and their families, on making sure that it is a safe space and on building those trusting relationships off the start so that they have that sense of trust coming to the health care system. We see that as fundamental. That relationship really is the intervention at the beginning, when we're getting to know them.