Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

Care home changes aim to give families more say

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 03 Nov, 2022 03:26 PM
  • Care home changes aim to give families more say

VICTORIA - The B.C. government says it's giving long-term care residents and their families a more direct line of communication with decision-makers on issues that affect them, after many expressed frustration during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mable Elmore, parliamentary secretary for senior services, says changes to the residential care regulation will strengthen the voices of resident and family councils.

The councils, which she likened to residential stratas, are groups of people who meet regularly to promote the collective interests of residents and discuss concerns.

The changes include requiring operators to meet more frequently with the councils and the formation of regional and provincial committees.

They come after many families expressed distress during the COVID-19 pandemic about staffing shortages, inconsistent compliance with health regulations and a lack of say over their loved ones' care.

Kim Slater, founder of Family Councils of BC, says the changes are a "game-changer" that will add family voices to policy decision-making, which has historically only included the Health Ministry, health authorities, workers unions and service providers.

"Now, the very people who are actually experiencing long-term care, up close and personal, will have a guaranteed independent collective voice in policy decisions that are impacting them."

Nola Galloway said she helped form an independent family council for her father's home after he went into care in 2009.

She said she believes the councils are essential contributors to improving the quality of life for residents in long-term care, but the pandemic highlighted why it was important they have a guaranteed voice in decisions that affect them.

"Families felt helpless as decisions were being made that tremendously impacted them and their loved ones, yet they had zero input into those decisions."

Those independent councils banded together to form regional associations and then a provincial one, the Family Councils of BC, early this year, she said.

The changes announced Thursday should alleviate some of the challenges those bodies have previously faced without detailed Health Ministry protocols in place to support them, Galloway said.

MORE National ARTICLES

Supply is answer to housing crisis: Falcon

Supply is answer to housing crisis: Falcon
Opposition leader Kevin Falcon says a Liberal government under his leadership would increase supply as a way to help first-time buyers. He says he would also back "direct" supports for renters, but he hasn't "fleshed out" exactly how that would look.

Supply is answer to housing crisis: Falcon

Lululemon founder gifts $100M to B.C. parks

Lululemon founder gifts $100M to B.C. parks
The donation, which was announced at an event held in Vancouver's Stanley Park on Thursday, will be made through the Wilson 5 Foundation. The commitment is part of the B.C. Parks Foundation's launch of 25x25, a multi-year campaign to protect 25 per cent of land and waters, in partnership with Indigenous people.

Lululemon founder gifts $100M to B.C. parks

MPs pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth in special sitting of House of Commons

MPs pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth in special sitting of House of Commons
Members of Parliament of all political stripes are rising in tribute to the queen today in a special sitting of the House. Trudeau says Canada came of age under the queen, who signed Canada's Constitution Act in 1982, ushering in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  

MPs pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth in special sitting of House of Commons

Man injured after Thursday early morning shooting in Cloverdale

Man injured after Thursday early morning shooting in Cloverdale
On Thursday, at approximately 5:30 am, police received a 911 call indicating a man was injured in the 5800 block of Angus Place. Upon arrival they found a 35-year-old male suffering from injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.

Man injured after Thursday early morning shooting in Cloverdale

City of Abbotsford gets $62M for new water system

City of Abbotsford gets $62M for new water system
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs says in a news release it's providing $62 million to the city to build a new well and water-treatment system that will serve more than 165,000 people in Abbotsford, Mission and the Matsqui First Nation.

City of Abbotsford gets $62M for new water system

Trevali exec, contractor convicted in Burkina Faso

Trevali exec, contractor convicted in Burkina Faso
Perkoa mine manager Hein Frey, who is South African and worked for Trevali, received a 24-month suspended sentence. Daryl Christensen, who is South African and a manager with Trevali's contractor Byrnecut, received a 12-month suspended sentence.  

Trevali exec, contractor convicted in Burkina Faso