Quality and Safety

Accreditation

Many providers, as “owners and operators” of services such as home support, assisted living and long-term care, are accredited through Accreditation Canada or the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), which audit health care organizations and provide a rating in relation to the organization’s compliance with a wide variety of quality standards leading to ongoing quality improvement, based on best practices across Canada. Health authorities are accredited through Accreditation Canada based on its eight quality dimensions.

BC Care Aide and Health Worker Registry

Care aides and community health workers are the front-line care providers in a variety of institutional and community settings, including both home support agencies and long-term care homes. They are an integral part of our health care system.

By creating a central registry for all care aides and community health workers working in BC, the Ministry of Health is establishing and improving standards of care in the care aide and community health worker occupations. The registry was also created to serve and protect vulnerable patients, residents and clients receiving care in publicly funded health care facilities.

Care aides or community health workers employed by publicly-funded employers in B.C. must register with the BC Care Aide and Health Worker Registry as a requirement for employment.

Employers are required to report any alleged patient abuse by an employee to the registry at the time of suspension or termination of employment. This may result in a registrant’s removal from the registry and affect the individual’s eligibility to hold employment with publicly-funded health employers.

For more information, see:

• BC Care Aide and Health Worker Registry

Contract Management

The Ministry of Health provides funding to health authorities across British Columbia for the delivery of publicly subsidized home and community care services. Health authorities may provide these services directly or through contracts with not-for-profit and for-profit service providers.

Health authorities have contracts with service providers that establish deliverables based on compliance with policies and standards as well as reporting requirements.

Criminal Records Review Act

Under the Criminal Records Review Act, all employees working with vulnerable adults are required to authorize a criminal record review for their organization. This requirement helps protect vulnerable adults in B.C. from physical, sexual or financial abuse.

Family Physicians

Family physicians play an important role in ensuring an individual’s health care needs are met and in providing oversight in medication review and monitoring and continuity of care.

Performance Management

The Ministry, in collaboration with the health authorities, has established Performance Management Frameworks and reporting for both assisted living and long-term care services. Performance management is the practice of using key performance indicators of quality, safety and client experience to measure, monitor and improve the quality of health outcomes of clients.