The Health Standards Organization announced the release of the new national Long-Term Care Services standard (CAN/HSO 21001:2023 Long-Term Care Services). The standard can be accessed at no fee. 

The standard was developed over a 23-month process and informed by the clinical and technical expertise and lived experience of our 32-member Technical Committee, input and feedback from over 18,800 Canadians, and the best available evidence.

The standard focuses on promoting good governance, upholding resident-centred care and enabling a meaningful quality of life for residents, ensuring high-quality and safe care, fostering a healthy and competent workforce, and promoting a culture of quality improvement and learning across long-term care (LTC) homes.

Alongside the standard, HSO also announced the release of What We Heard Report #3: Findings from HSO’s Public Engagement in the Development of a New National Long-Term Care Services Standard, which summarizes the feedback received from over 18,800 Canadians throughout the development of the standard. The report can be accessed here: https://longtermcarestandards.ca/engage

CCSA would like to highlight Section 5, which takes a better look at the health and safety of the workforce as they provide quality care to their residents:

now includes a better look on the health and safety of the workforce which is emphasized in section 5:

5 Enabling a Healthy and Competent Workforce

• 5.1 The LTC home leaders enable competent teams, provide supportive working conditions, and ensure the health and safety of the LTC home’s workforce.

5.1.1 The LTC home leaders demonstrate that the number and skill mix of the workforce is evidence informed to enable team-based care.

5.1.2 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has the appropriate training before using standardized templates and tools for comprehensive needs assessments and individualized care plans.

5.1.3 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has access to ongoing training on safety practices.

5.1.4 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has access to continuous learning activities to support ongoing learning and career development.

5.1.5 The LTC home leaders have effective strategies for recruitment and retention.

5.1.6 The LTC home leaders have procedures in place to mitigate understaffing.

5.1.7 The LTC home leaders follow the LTC home’s occupational health and safety policy and procedures.

5.1.8 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has access to wellness programs.

5.1.9 The LTC home leaders follow the LTC home’s policy and procedures to address claims that the rights of the workforce have been violated.

5.1.10 The LTC home leaders address the workforce’s concerns in a timely manner.

5.1.11 The LTC home leaders establish effective communication strategies to support active engagement with the workforce.

• 5.2 The LTC home leaders provide health care equipment and information and communication technology to improve working conditions and support the provision of high-quality, resident-centred care.

5.2.1 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has access to appropriate health care equipment that enables the delivery of high-quality care.

5.2.2 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has access to evidence-informed information and communication technology that supports the delivery of high-quality care.

5.2.3 The LTC home leaders ensure the workforce has received the appropriate training before using new health care equipment and information and communication technologies.

5.2.4 The LTC home leaders establish a preventive maintenance program for health care equipment.

• 5.3 The LTC home leaders ensure that data on the LTC home’s workforce are collected, analyzed, reported, and used to understand workforce needs, create staffing plans, and allocate resources.

5.3.1 The LTC home leaders invest in the required resources to collect workforce data to support improvements to working conditions.

5.3.2 The LTC home leaders ensure socio-demographic workforce data are collected to support improvements to working conditions.

5.3.3 The LTC home leaders ensure retention indicators are collected to better understand workforce engagement and turnover.

5.3.4 The LTC home leaders ensure workforce experience surveys are administered at least annually.