Health Care Assistant Regulation
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Survey is open until November 20
Overview
Dates: September 21 to November 20
Who: Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office, Ministry of Health
What: An assessment of whether to regulate health care assistants
Where: Province-wide
Why: To gather feedback on the role of health care assistants to help determine whether they should become regulated under provincial health law
How: Online
Engagement summary
Health care assistants in B.C. use different job titles such as care aide, community health worker, and resident care attendant. They provide services like personal care, medication assistance, and meal support.
The Health Professions and Occupations Regulatory Oversight Office (the Oversight Office) is seeking information from people in B.C. about health care assistants. The feedback collected will help assess if health care assistants should be regulated in B.C.
The engagement will focus on the risks related to the work of health care assistants, where they see patients, how they work, and the types of harm that can occur when care is delivered. It will also focus on how health care assistants are currently overseen, and the potential impacts of regulation under B.C. health law.
An initial review conducted by the Oversight Office found that health care assistants provide health services that have the potential to cause harm to patients and the public if not performed appropriately. As a result, the Oversight Office has started a designation assessment on whether or not it is recommended that the province regulate HCAs. This engagement opportunity is part of the assessment. More information about this assessment.
Different requirements
Voluntary Registry
Health care assistants are not currently regulated under B.C. law. Instead, the current system for oversight is through a voluntary registry.
Only health care assistants who work in publicly funded health care organizations are required to join the registry. For those working in other settings, joining is voluntary. Other organizations can hire health care assistants who are not on the registry.
Health care assistants must complete an education program recognized by the registry to join it. The registry database is not publicly accessible. This means only health care employers can look up if a health care assistant is on the registry.
Learn more about the registry.
Reporting requirements
The registry has a role in receiving reports of alleged abuse and neglect. Publicly funded health care employers must report a health care assistant to the registry when they have suspended or terminated them because of alleged abuse or neglect. Other employers do not currently have to do this.
A health care assistant’s registration with the registry will be suspended when an alleged abuse or neglect report is made. The registry may remove them or undo the suspension after investigations and appeals. A health care assistant who is removed from the registry could still apply for jobs with a private or non-profit organization because those employers do not have to hire from the registry.
About health regulation
In B.C., health regulation means that a profession or occupation is regulated under the Health Professions and Occupations Act. Regulatory colleges oversee the people they regulate and help protect the public – they are not educational institutions.
If health care assistants were regulated under provincial law, they could be required to:
- Obtain a license to practice, regardless of their employer or work setting
- Pay a licensing fee
- Meet minimum practice and qualification standards (education, training, credentials)
- Have their name listed on a publicly accessible online registry with information such as past discipline records and whether they have an active license to practice
Regulation could also result in:
- The ability for people, including patients, employers, and caretakers, to make complaints against health care assistants
- The ability to investigate complaints against a health care assistant and take action, such as cancelling their license to practice
- Health care assistant services becoming more expensive
- Certain job titles, such as health care assistant, used only by practitioners who hold a valid license
How your contribution makes a difference
You have an opportunity to impact health regulation in B.C. Your contributions will help inform a recommendations report to the Minister of Health on whether B.C. should regulate health care assistants under provincial law.
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