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Difference between revisions of "The Basic Recourse Process under CCALA"
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The Basic Recourse Process under CCALA (view source)
Revision as of 21:49, 27 June 2014
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Under Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Regulations, operators are allowed to determine what their own complaints processes will be, as long as they meet the test of being “fair, prompt and effective.” While this offers flexibility, this can result in wide variations in the complaints processes among the facilities across the province. As a result, the BC Ombudsperson recommended the Ministry of Health take a more standardized (“specific, legalized”) approach with timeframes and records. While on its face a laudable goal, there may be numerous challenges with a standardized approach. | Under Community Care and Assisted Living Act and the Regulations, operators are allowed to determine what their own complaints processes will be, as long as they meet the test of being “fair, prompt and effective.” While this offers flexibility, this can result in wide variations in the complaints processes among the facilities across the province. As a result, the BC Ombudsperson recommended the Ministry of Health take a more standardized (“specific, legalized”) approach with timeframes and records. While on its face a laudable goal, there may be numerous challenges with a standardized approach. | ||
==Concerns About Raising Concerns== | ==1. Concerns About Raising Concerns== | ||
Identifying issues and concerns in a care facility and having them addressed in an appropriate, timely, and effective manner is essential to the respecting the rights and dignity of residents, as well as assuring their wellbeing. It can help prevent crises, or recurrence of issues. However, it is very commonplace for residents, as well as family, friends, or others including staff to be very cautious about bringing facility related concerns to the attention of persons who may be able to resolve the issues. | Identifying issues and concerns in a care facility and having them addressed in an appropriate, timely, and effective manner is essential to the respecting the rights and dignity of residents, as well as assuring their wellbeing. It can help prevent crises, or recurrence of issues. However, it is very commonplace for residents, as well as family, friends, or others including staff to be very cautious about bringing facility related concerns to the attention of persons who may be able to resolve the issues. | ||
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Family members and friends are often concerned about the potential for adverse consequences for the resident when they are not there, as well as for themselves (such as restrictions on visiting). Volunteers are there at the largesse of administration. Staff may be concerned about risking their job, including ending up with reduced hours or less favourable shifts, especially if they are casual and part-time workers. Sometimes people’s reactions simply reflect fear of the unknown. In other instances, these are reasonable responses to previous situations that may not have been handled well in this care facility or others. | Family members and friends are often concerned about the potential for adverse consequences for the resident when they are not there, as well as for themselves (such as restrictions on visiting). Volunteers are there at the largesse of administration. Staff may be concerned about risking their job, including ending up with reduced hours or less favourable shifts, especially if they are casual and part-time workers. Sometimes people’s reactions simply reflect fear of the unknown. In other instances, these are reasonable responses to previous situations that may not have been handled well in this care facility or others. | ||
==Reporting Protections== | ==2. Reporting Protections== | ||
===Who is protected and when?=== | ===Who is protected and when?=== | ||
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It can be challenging at times to understand the scope of existing reporting protections, leading to the question, “So who is protected and when?” The Residential Care Regulations definitions are specifically framed in the context of “reportable incidents”. This leaves the possibility that residents, families and staff may not be protected from adverse consequences when raising concerns that do not fall in this narrow framework. | It can be challenging at times to understand the scope of existing reporting protections, leading to the question, “So who is protected and when?” The Residential Care Regulations definitions are specifically framed in the context of “reportable incidents”. This leaves the possibility that residents, families and staff may not be protected from adverse consequences when raising concerns that do not fall in this narrow framework. | ||
The abuse reporting protections of the Adult Guardianship Act(AGA) apply to all settings including residential care, although the AGA has not traditionally been used in this setting. The | The abuse reporting protections of the Adult Guardianship Act(AGA) apply to all settings including residential care, although the AGA has not traditionally been used in this setting. The AGA safeguards protect the identity of all good faith reporters. Section 46 (4) of the AGA offers certain employment and professional protections for people who report in suspected abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults made in good faith to a “designated agency” (generally health units in the community). Residents and other people are protected against intimidation and coercion when an abuse report has been made in these circumstances. See Figure 1. | ||
===Figure 1 Reporting Protections=== | ===Figure 1 Reporting Protections=== | ||
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==Threats of Being Sued== | ==3. Threats of Being Sued== | ||
Identifying and addressing problems in care facilities is a socially important matter that needs to be dealt with fairly and in a responsive manner. On rare occasion, a British Columbia operator has initiated a defamation lawsuit against a third party who has publicly identified problems in a residential care facility, on the basis that the comments damaged the business’s reputation. When this occurred in another Canadian jurisdiction the operator’s lawsuit was not successful; the court considered it in the public interest to raise these issues. | Identifying and addressing problems in care facilities is a socially important matter that needs to be dealt with fairly and in a responsive manner. On rare occasion, a British Columbia operator has initiated a defamation lawsuit against a third party who has publicly identified problems in a residential care facility, on the basis that the comments damaged the business’s reputation. When this occurred in another Canadian jurisdiction the operator’s lawsuit was not successful; the court considered it in the public interest to raise these issues. | ||
