Residents Bill of Rights

From the BC Ministry of Health

ALL ADULT RESIDENTS IN LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS:

COMMITMENT TO CARE

1.  An adult person in care has the right to a care plan developed specifically for him or her, and on the basis of his or her unique abilities, physical, social and emotional needs, and cultural and spiritual preferences.

RIGHT TO HEALTH, SAFETY and DIGNITY

2.  An adult person in care has the right to the protection and promotion of his or her health, safety and dignity, including a right to all of the following:

• to be treated in a manner, and to live in an environment that promotes his or her health, safety and dignity;
• to be protected from abuse or neglect; to have his or her lifestyle and choices respected and supported, and to pursue social, cultural, religious, spiritual and other interests;
• to have his or her personal privacy respected, including in relation to his or her records, bedroom, belongings and storage spaces;
• to receive visitors and to communicate with visitors in private;
• to keep and to display personal possessions, pictures and furnishings in his or her bedroom.

RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION and FREEDOM of EXPRESSION

3.  An adult person in care has the right to participate in his or her own care and to freely express his or her views, including a right to all of the following:

• to participate in the development and implementation of his or her care plan;
• to establish and participate in a resident or family council to represent the interests of residents to represent the interests of persons in care;
• to have his or her family or representative participate on a resident or family council on their own behalf;
• to have access to a fair and effective process to express concerns, make complaints or resolve disputes within the facility.
• to be informed as to how to make a complaint to an authority outside the facility;
• to have his or her family or representative exercise the rights under this clause on his or her behalf.

RIGHT TO TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY

4.  An adult person in care has the right to transparency and accountability, including a right to all of the following:

• to have ready access to copies of all laws, rules, and/or policies affecting a service provided to him or her;
• to have ready access to a copy of the most recent routine inspection record made under the Act;
• to be informed in advance of all charges, fees, and other amounts that he or she must pay for accommodations and services received through the facility;
• (if any part of the cost of accommodations or services is pre-paid), to receive at the time of prepayment a written statement setting out the terms and conditions under which a refund may be made;
• to have his or her family or representative informed of the matters described in this clause.

SCOPE OF RIGHTS

5.  The rights set out in clauses 2, 3 and 4 are subject to:
 

• what is reasonably practical given the physical, mental and emotional circumstances of the person in care;
• the need to protect and promote the health and safety of the person in care or another person in care, and the rights of other persons in care.