In response to a request from the Ministry of Health, the BC Care Providers Association is recommending significant reforms to the BC Care Aide Registry. One of those changes would be to have the Registry managed by the College of Licensed Practical Nurses (CLPN) or alternatively the College of Registered Nurses (CRN).
“Over the last several months we’ve invested a significant amount of time consulting with our members, the CLPN and CRN as well as a number of other key stakeholders in order to develop these recommendations,” says Daniel Fontaine, CEO, BCCPA. “We’ve been advocating for a number of years that the Registry be completely overhauled to ensure it’s doing what it was intended to do – protect seniors receiving care from financial, physical and emotional abuse. I’m very pleased to see that Minister Lake has been been listening and is willing to make some significant changes for the better.”
Fontaine was appointed to and is an active member of the BC Council to Reduce Elder Abuse.
“We believe our recommendations take a very balanced approach,” says Fontaine. “Having BC’s care aides fall under the direct stewardship of the College makes sense and it also offers the greatest opportunity for it to become a model for the rest of Canada.”
[quote name=”Daniel Fontaine, CEO, BCCPA” pull=”left”]We’ve been advocating for a number of years that the Registry be completely overhauled to ensure it’s doing what it was intended to do – protect seniors from financial, physical and emotional abuse while receiving care[/quote]
What follows is an excerpt from the letter sent to the Ministry earlier today:
On behalf of the BC Care Providers Association (BCCPA), I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in your consultation process regarding reforms to the BC Care Aide and Community Health Worker Registry (the Registry).
As you are aware, we believe the current structure and scope of the Registry currently limits its ability to protect vulnerable seniors from physical, financial and emotional abuse. Furthermore, as identified in our Seniors Care for a Change report released in 2014, the Registry also adds unnecessary costs and red tape to care providers across the province, including a costly and cumbersome investigative process.
In your letter dated December 24, 2014 you have requested we respond to several questions as they pertain to the Registry. After having consulted with our members and the nursing colleges, we believe a reformed Registry should:
- Be managed and overseen by the College of Licensed Practical Nurses or alternatively the College of Registered Nurses.
- Ensure HCAs are not full registrants of the College overseeing the Registry, but rather, in a unique category (i.e. non-professional certified registrant), under the College.
- Ensure the protection of seniors from physical, financial and emotional abuse regardless if they are in publicly funded or private care homes.
- Support the growth in the overall number of Health Care Assistants (HCAs) by not placing unnecessary barriers to entry.
- Support appropriate province-wide standardized skills development and training of HCAs.
- Ensure membership dues for HCAs and any fees associated with the Registry are modest and remain affordable.
- Be based on a self-funded and transparent investigation and disciplinary model that is committed to openness and accountability.
- Not be entangled or impacted by any particular collective agreement.
- Establish a plan for regular reviews to determine efficiency and effectiveness.
- Provide opportunity for adequate and ongoing stakeholder feedback and engagement (i.e. stakeholder advisory committee of which BCCPA would be a standing member).
Given the importance of protecting seniors from abuse, we are encouraging the government expedite reforms to the Registry in order that they can take effect as soon as possible. As there is no need for legislative changes, we believe this should help facilitate the process.
The BCCPA will be updating its members with any new developments over the coming months. A number of key stakeholders including the CRN, CLPN and BC Licensed Practical Nurses Association have also made submissions to the Ministry pf Health regarding reforms to the Registry.
