Accountability

B.C. has a wide range of mechanisms in place to ensure the health, safety, and quality of care for people receiving home and community care services. Many of these apply to both publicly subsidized as well as private pay services.

To learn more about how we are working to make home and community care services safe and accountable to B.C. citizens, please see:

• Legislation Governing Seniors Care
• Policy and Standards
• Quality and Safety
• Facility and Residence Reports
• Family and Resident Councils
• Public Reporting

Learning Resources

Consent to Health Care in BC: A Course for Health Care Providers

In collaboration with the health authorities and other key stakeholders, the Ministry of Health has developed Consent to Health Care in BC: A Course for Health Care Providers.  This course has been developed in response to a demand for a learning tool that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of health care providers in seeking consent to health-care services.

The course is comprised of four learning modules and is intended to guide health care providers (including staff of long-term care homes) in seeking valid consent from adults prior to delivering health care services. The information in this course may also be of interest to family and friends, or anyone who is advocating for an adult who may be unable to make their own health care decisions.

The course outlines sections of the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act, which establish the requirements for obtaining consent to treatment including circumstances in which a person can give valid substitute consent on behalf of an adult who is incapable.

This course does not cover material relating to health care consent for minors (under the age of 19), the Adult Guardianship Act, or Part 3 of the Health Care (Consent) and Care Facility (Admission) Act which has not yet been brought into force. The course is publicly available through the Provincial Health Services Authority LearningHub.

Recognizing and Responding to Adult Abuse: New eLearning Course

The Ministry of Health has developed a course on Recognizing and Responding to Adult Abuse of interest to concerned individuals and anyone who acts in a caregiving or service-providing capacity, whether at home, in the community, or in a professional setting.

This easy to follow, eLearning training module was designed in collaboration with the health authorities and key stakeholders, and is intended to build awareness about recognizing, preventing and responding to the abuse of adults.

It covers key definitions and the different types of abuse, provides a scenario in a health-care setting involving an adult with multiple vulnerabilities, and advises how to respond to suspected abuse and obtain more information.

The course is publicly available through the Provincial Health Services Authority LearningHub.