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Difference between revisions of "Overview of Legal Issues in Residential Care"
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Overview of Legal Issues in Residential Care (view source)
Revision as of 19:24, 20 June 2014
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===5. Knowing the Specific Parties=== | |||
:“Residential Care facilities provide 24-hour professional care and supervision to adults in a supportive, secure environment.” | |||
It is important to recognize that the identified “24 hour professional care” does not mean nursing care (care by registered nurses). The professional care is delivered by a mix of direct care staff (typically residential care aides or health care assistants) under the supervision of a licensed practical nurse, or possibly a registered nurse. The term “Health Care Assistant” (HCA) is becoming a preferred term for care aides in British Columbia. | |||
In many residential care facilities, the registered nurse will be the Director of Care, who may or may not be on site for that facility. In addition, the residential care facility may employ other professional staff to help support the resident’s care and wellbeing, including for example, a nutritionist, social worker, occupational therapist, a part time physician, physical therapist or recreational therapist. | |||
====Residential Care Aides (RCAs)==== | |||
Residential Care Aides provide basic resident care, offering residents assistance with the activities of daily living - such as bathing, dressing, grooming - and often serve meal trays and feed residents. They are also known as care attendants or care assistants. When directed by nursing staff (an LPN or RN), the care aides take basic measurements, such as the person’s' blood pressure, temperature and pulse. They are also the frontline workers who are called upon to collect urine, feces or sputum specimens. At present RCAs are not involved in the overall planning of care for residents, although there have been efforts to make this possible as they often have the most direct contact with the resident. Depending on the facility, they may provide input for care conferences to review the resident’s care. | |||
RCAs are unregulated health care providers. A broad range of private and public colleges or institutes offer “Resident Care Attendant” certificates. In 2008, the Health Care Assistant (HCA) Program Provincial Curriculum was established. While it is not compulsory at present for the various teaching colleges to use it, there is a special program recognition process for those colleges that do. After June 30, 2014, all students who have completed their program in British Columbia will be required to show that they have graduated from one of the recognized British Columbia Health Care assistant programs listed on the Registry website in order to become registered care assistants. | |||
There is no regulatory organization (like the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC) to ensure program graduates have the ongoing skills necessary for licensing. The residential care aide program is a relatively short program. It has attracted many qualified people who had a health care career (such as nursing) before immigrating, but who do not qualify to be certified, registered or licensed in their previous occupation in Canada. | |||
====Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs)==== | |||
Licensed Practical Nurses in residential care provide routine bedside care, including the distribution of medication to patients and performing personal treatment. They also help evaluate residents' needs, develop care plans, and supervise RCAs. To work as a LPN in British Columbia, the person must have completed a Practical Nursing program or other approved programs and must be licensed with the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC. | |||
About 28% of LPNs in the province work for multiple employers and are casual workers often working multiple jobs and many hours in a row. | |||
====Registered Nurses (RNs)==== | |||
Registered nurses hold a four-year baccalaureate degree in nursing from a Canadian university or its international equivalent. These nurses may specialize in a variety of areas such as surgery, geriatrics, psychiatrics, pediatrics, community health, occupational health, emergency, rehabilitation or oncology. In the few residential care facilities that have registered nurses, they may be the Director of Care. There are very few geriatric nurse specialists working residential care facilities in British Columbia. | |||
====“Providers” - Owners, Operators, Managers, Licensees==== | |||
The Licensees (Owners, Operators) of residential care facilities in British Columbia come from a very wide variety of backgrounds. The Licensee may be a not –for-profit society, a for-profit business (including a federal pension group), and in some cases, the local health authority. Managers in many cases have a background in hospitality or management; some may have a background in health care. | |||
====Health Authorities==== | |||
While the overall responsibility for residential care facilities, extended care facilities and private hospitals lies with the Ministry of Health, each of British Columbia’s five regional health authorities is responsible for most of the oversight in this area. Community Care Licensing Offices in each health region are responsible for licensing and inspecting the residential care facilities, extended care facilities and private hospitals. There are often regional differences among the health authorities in how those responsibilities are carried out. Complaint mechanisms such as the Patient Care Quality Offices are provincially legislated but are operated by each health authority. | |||
{{REVIEWED | reviewer = BC Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support, June 2014}} | {{REVIEWED | reviewer = BC Centre for Elder Advocacy and Support, June 2014}} | ||
{{Legal Issues in Residential Care: An Advocate's Manual Navbox}} | {{Legal Issues in Residential Care: An Advocate's Manual Navbox}} | ||