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Ombudsperson recommends improvements to seniors' care

British Columbia ombudperson Kim Carter has provided 10 recommendations to improve care for seniors in part one of her report on the sector, not all of which the government has accepted.

“The Ministry of Health Services and the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport have not adequately identified the province’s commitment to care and the rights of seniors in residential care facilities,” Carter's report, originally scheduled for release in the spring, found.

Carter recommended putting a commitment to care and the rights of seniors in law and requiring facilities to post those rights where they are easily visible to residents and seniors. The government has already acted on that recommendation, she said.

She also recommended creating a province-wide website to share key information about care facilities and providing more support for resident and family councils, recommendations the government has so far declined to act on.

“I am satisfied that some of our recommendations, such as the residents’ bill of rights, have been accepted and are already being implemented,” Carter wrote in her introduction to the report. “I remain concerned this is not the case with other recommendations, even when the ministries have indicated they accept the purpose and intent of the recommendations.”

She said, “I hope that the significant public interest in this area will encourage full and timely implementation of all our recommendations.”

The second report on seniors' care will take a broader look at the sector, she wrote.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.


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