BC’s Health Care Assistant oversight renewal and institutional models of care
In late 2016, the BC Ministry of Health made clear its intention to move forward with a new model of oversight for Health Care Assistants (HCA) in the province. An HCA Oversight Policy Intentions Paper described a new, single nursing regulator (made up of the three nursing colleges) which would be given full regulatory oversight once implemented.
After reviewing the paper and coordinating with our partners Inclusion BC and the BC CEO Network, The Federation submitted a formal response to Assistant Deputy Minister Ted Patterson outlining our concerns about the impact this model would have on community-based services for children, youth, and adults with developmental disabilities. You can view The Federation’s letter on the member’s section of our website here.
It is our belief—a belief shared by researchers, practitioners, and The Ministry for Children and Family Development—that the best possible option for any child is to grow up in a home-like environment. An institutional, health-based model of oversight would negatively affect the many homes where staff are employed to provide care to children and youth with developmental disabilities.
Like the letters penned by the CEO Network and Inclusion BC, we made clear that people with disabilities and their allies have long worked to move away from institutional models of care. And we made clear that the model proposed by the Ministry of Health would take us many steps backward.
While we believe the time has come to expect provincial registration for anyone working with a vulnerable child, youth, or adult in the community service sector, the HCA registry as proposed would fail to meet the needs of those serving people with disabilities.
The Federation will remain engaged in this process over the coming months actively working with government and our partners to ensure there is a registry for our sector that reflects our unique needs. We will keep you, our members, informed about any future developments.
If you have any questions or concerns about the proposed model or our organization’s response, feel free to contact me.