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Seniors may have a variety of reasons to
contact the Ombudsperson’s
office.
For example, if you feel you’ve been unfairly treated by
Pharmacare, the Medical Services Plan, the Ministry of Health, a
hospital or health region, ICBC, or the Public Guardian and
Trustee, we may be able to help.
If you have a
problem with one of these or
any of the other
agencies under our jurisdiction, and you’ve been unable to
resolve it yourself, you may want to
make a complaint to our
office.
We can also investigate complaints
regarding the failure of health authorities to enforce standards
of care in
residential care facilities.
Our phones are answered by real people 8:30am to 4:30pm, Monday
to Friday.
If you do have to leave a message for us, someone will get back
to you promptly.
For examples of some of the work we’ve done with and for
seniors, please see our seniors
case summaries page. You can learn more about what we do here.
For Immediate Release
PR08-003
August 21, 2008
OMBUDSMAN LAUNCHES SYSTEMIC INVESTIGATION
INTO SENIORS’ CARE
VICTORIA – B.C. Ombudsman Kim Carter announced today that she
has launched a systemic investigation into problems with
seniors’ care, including residential and assisted living
facilities and home support services.
The Ombudsman’s office is already responding to more than 50
individual complaints about seniors’ care that it’s received
since late June, when the Ombudsman issued a news release about
her office’s role in the investigation of these types of
complaints. For example, the office has received complaints
about neglect in care facilities, accessibility of services,
placement decisions, separation from spouses and the closure of
facilities. Ms. Carter said she decided to launch the systemic
investigation in response to these complaints, and after meeting
with a number of seniors groups about their concerns.
“Seniors are part of a generation that had to do without and
overcome adversity, so they may be less inclined to complain,”
Ms. Carter said. “Some seniors may be unable to complain
effectively because of their physical or mental challenges, or
may be reluctant to do so because they feel vulnerable.”
The systemic investigation will examine various aspects of
seniors’ care, including access to services, standards of care
in facilities, and monitoring and enforcement of those
standards. It will also look at how information about seniors’
care services is provided to the public and to those affected by
decisions.
The Ombudsman’s mandate is to ensure that public
administration in B.C. is fair, transparent and accountable. In
addition to investigating individual complaints, the Ombudsman
also conducts systemic investigations into complex issues and
makes recommendations for improvement. The public bodies over
which the Ombudsman has jurisdiction include: provincial
ministries, health authorities, Crown corporations, colleges and
universities, school districts and municipalities.
As part of the investigative process, the Ombudsman has
posted a
questionnaire about seniors’ care
at
www.ombudsman.bc.ca, to which the public is invited to
respond in confidence. People who have a specific complaint
about seniors’ care services may submit a complaint online or by
calling 1-800-567-3247.
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