Health and Safety

The Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Assisted Living Regulation set out operators’ responsibilities to promote and protect residents’ health and safety in assisted living residences.

Operators are responsible for promoting and protecting their residents’ health and safety. This involves:

• Monitoring or maintaining a watchful eye over residents’ health and safety
• Being clear with staff and residents about expectations for keeping residents safe and promoting their health; and
• Taking action when someone’s health or safety is at risk

An operator must:

• Take immediate and appropriate action in response to a reportable (serious) incident
• Protect residents from abuse and neglect
• Write and make known to staff policies and procedures to be followed to keep residents safe
  ​i.e.,
  • Missing person
  • End of residency
  • Health and hygiene
  • Practicing food safety.

Reportable Incidents

Reportable incidents are incidents that operators have a duty to report to the assisted living registry, as defined in Schedule E of the Assisted Living Regulation.

The following constitute reportable (serious) incidents: aggression between residents, aggressive or unusual behaviour, attempted suicide, choking, death, disease outbreak or occurrence, emotional abuse, fall, financial abuse, food poisoning, medication error, missing or wandering person, motor vehicle injury, neglect, other injury, overdose, physical abuse, poisoning, service delivery problem, sexual abuse, and unexpected illness.

Click here for a Reportable Incident Form (PDF, 203KB)

Keeping a “Watchful Eye” over Residents

Keeping a “watchful eye” over residents is an ongoing responsibility of assisted living operators and staff. It is a responsibility of ‘noticing, respecting and responding’ that involves:

• Monitoring a resident’s health and safety needs on an ongoing basis
• Making sure staff members know which residents need extra support and how to provide it safely
• Noticing changes in a resident’s behaviour, habits or general appearance
• Noticing if there is a decline in the resident’s abilities to do any tasks involved in daily living or in their overall health status
• Being respectful of each resident’s independence and decision making in this process; and
• Respecting each resident’s decisions about their well-being