The B.C. government is giving families with loved ones in long-term care more power to voice their concerns, following frustrations experienced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said Thursday that the province will be working with all care homes to ensure they have strong resident and family councils.
Councils may include care-home residents, family members, and other representatives who act on behalf of residents and meet regularly to discuss issues of concern.
Dix said the changes would increase collaboration and allow for more consistent applications of policies across B.C.
“Long-term care residences are people’s homes, and it’s important that residents and family members have a place to share concerns and ideas when it comes to decisions about how the homes are operating,” he told a news conference.
Families raised concerns during the periods of tightest COVID-19 public-health restrictions that some care homes were not following government directives to keep people safe.
Interior Association of Family Council chair Heather Stuckey was emotional on Thursday, describing the frustration many families felt attempting to navigate the care home visitation rules.
“I cannot stress enough the importance of every facility in the province establishing their own independent councils to give our long-term care residents the voices they deserve,” Stuckey said.
“The process of entering long-term care can be very challenging.”
Currently, individual long-term care homes can establish family councils, but there are no provincial guidelines for them.
Thursday’s establishment of the framework aims to ensure health authorities and operators are working with the councils on better communication and collaboration, the province said.