Difference between revisions of "Admission to the Residential Care Facility"

In other instances, individuals may not have insight into their conditions, or the effects that their decisions and risk taking have on others. Still others have come to rely on promises that family or friends made them in the past to “not make  them go to a nursing home” (family or friends  may simply no longer be able to keep that promise, or may not have ever intended to try).  In many of these cases, silence, avoidance, subterfuge done “in their best interest” and “little lies” (“Mom, it is just for a short stay until you are stronger”) or even blatant misrepresentation has been used by family or others in the health care system to have the person admitted to a care facility.

In the past, Ministry of Health policy simply required that health authorities authorize the admission of clients to residential care facilities and that clients agree to admission.  At present, the ministry policy requires health authorities ensure “that a client’s capacity to provide informed consent to facility admission has been assessed, and that the client has consented in writing to be admitted to a residential care facility.” These provisions were developed in anticipation of the enactment of the Part 3 sections of the Health Care Consent and Care Facilities (Admission) Act dealing with admissions to the facility, which to date are not in force.

'''Note: If a person has been given authority to receive administer the resident’s Old Age Security or Canada Pension Plan cheques as a Private Trustee, this is ''not considered'' as sufficient legal authority to consent to admission or sign  the admission agreement.'''

Consenting to admission can be done verbally or in writing. A person may indirectly communicate informed consent to the Operator by nodding the head, cooperating with the questions asked, etc. Verbal consent has occasionally created problems for Operators when the resident no longer remembers or later denies having given consent.  Today, Ministry of Health policy focuses on have a signed document showing consent.  Arguably, that does not mean the resident or substitute must sign.  However, it can be important for the Operator to document in some manner that the person has consented to admission, even if it was done verbally.

As noted above, health authorities are required to assure “that a client’s capacity to provide informed consent to facility admission has been assessed. “Assess” may be interpreted in two ways in this policy context:  

The issues of consent in various legal contexts are described in greater detail in the chapters on “Consent & Capacity” and “Substitute Decisionmaking”.

For mentally capable adults, the decision whether to move to and be admitted to residential care rests with them.  In all other cases, it will rest with someone else.