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Difference between revisions of "Directing Residential Care Concerns to Health Authorities"
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Directing Residential Care Concerns to Health Authorities (view source)
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==Ombudsperson Office== | ==Ombudsperson Office== | ||
The Ombudsperson is an independent officer of the Legislature appointed under the Ombudsperson Act. The focus of the Office is to ensure that every person in British Columbia is treated fairly in the provision of public services. The Ombudsperson has the responsibility to advise government on systemic causes of unfairness and to recommend changes to practices, policies and legislation that contribute to recurring unfairness. | The Ombudsperson is an independent officer of the Legislature appointed under the Ombudsperson Act. The focus of the Office is to ensure that every person in British Columbia is treated fairly in the provision of public services. The Ombudsperson has the responsibility to advise government on systemic causes of unfairness and to recommend changes to practices, policies and legislation that contribute to recurring unfairness. | ||
===Role, mandate, function=== | |||
The general function of the Ombudsperson is to oversee the administrative actions of government authorities. The Ombudsperson determines whether provincial ministries and public agencies have acted fairly and reasonably, and whether their actions and decisions are consistent with relevant legislation, policies and procedures. The Ombudsperson can | |||
* respond to inquiries from the public, | |||
* conduct investigations of complaints of individual cases. | |||
The Ombudsperson can also consult with authorities to improve administrative practices by identifying issues, providing reasons, and making recommendations. The Ombudsperson provides reports to the Legislative Assembly about administrative fairness issues, the causes of recurring unfairness and how these can be remedied. | |||
According to the Ombudsperson Office, the focus of administrative fairness to assure procedural fairness and effective public administration. This involves having appropriate legal authority; useful policies and procedures; clear public information; accessible programs; consistent standards of practice; adequate monitoring and enforcement; and timely and responsive complaint resolutions. | |||
The Ombudsperson has authority over a wide range of government departments and Ministries; perhaps one of the most relevant ones here is the Ministry of Health. From 2008 to 2009 the Ombudsperson carried out an extensive review of care for seniors in British Columbia, identifying a wide variety of situations where seniors and families were not being treated in a fair manner in home support and residential care services. In 2012 the Ombudsperson also reviewed the circumstances under which certificates of incapability were being issued in British Columbia to declare persons (typically seniors) incapable of managing their financial affairs. The Ombudsperson’s review focused on whether the incapability certificate process was fair, and whether there were sufficient procedural safeguards to protect the person’s rights. | |||
===Issues=== | |||
A wide variety of residential care issues potentially come under the scope of the Ombudsperson’s mandate of assuring administrative fairness. These may include, for example, examining whether or not | |||
* a health authority or other public body makes a decision affecting a resident’s rights and provides adequate reasons, or has adequate procedural safeguards in place | |||
* a public body acts within the actual scope of their authority, or uses a law intended for one purpose for a very different one, | |||
* a policy seems to treat some people unfairly, | |||
* a health authority provides operators with objective and enforceable standards of care, | |||
* people are provided with sufficient information at the appropriate time to make informed decisions about admission, placement or transfer to a care facility, | |||
* a public body has failed to act – e.g. a health authority “turns a blind eye” to care facility operators charging residents extra for services that are included in the accommodation fees paid. | |||
===Process=== | |||
Complaints to Ombudsperson may be made by a person or group of persons. A complaint must be in writing. The Ombudsperson is a resource of last resort; that is, the person must have gone through the other avenues first. | |||
===Available remedies=== | |||
The Ombudsperson can make recommendations which may or may not be acted upon by the public body. These recommendations are typically couched in language of “administrative fairness” and “natural justice” not whether the actions are legal. The Ombudsperson’s work is guided by the democratic principles of openness, transparency and accountability. | |||
==The Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT)== | |||
The Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) has numerous roles. In the context of residential care, the PGT’s responsibilities can include investigating | |||
* the personal care and health care decisions made by a representative or guardian, | |||
* the affairs of a representative, guardian or person holding a power of attorney, if the Public Guardian and Trustee has reason to believe that the interest in the trust, or the assets of the adult, may be at risk. | |||
* adult who is apparently abused or neglected, as defined in the Adult Guardianship Act. | |||
These investigations can also occur if the Public Guardian and Trustee has reason to believe the representative or guardian has failed to comply with his or her duties. The PGT responsibilities includes the power to investigate and audit the affairs, dealings and accounts of certain trusts. The PGT can handle disputes about substitute decision making. | |||
The Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT) has jurisdiction over health care decisions, when no one is available or qualified from the list of substitute decision makers. The PGT office can authorize another person such as a friend of the adult to make substitute decisions. If there is no person to authorize, the PGT can take the role as Temporary Substitute Decisionmaker. | |||
The PGT also has jurisdiction when there is a dispute between potential substitute decisionmakers of equal rank about who is to be chosen to make decisions on the person’s behalf and the issue cannot be resolved by the health care provider. In those circumstances, the health care provider is required to contact a Health Care Decisions Consultant at the Public Guardian and Trustee. | |||
The PGT also has the authority to act as Committee of the Estate when a person is declared mentally incapable under the Patient Property Act. This area of law on the role of the PGT and “incapability certificates” is undergoing major change at present, and a new approach is expected to be in place by the end of 2014. | |||
