Providing clients with clear and accessible information up front is of utmost importance.

Lana was the main household breadwinner. When she was admitted to a residential care facility in the Interior, her husband Rob was told by the Interior Health Authority (IHA) case manager the fees for residential care were based on Lana’s income. The cost of Lana’s care put Rob in financial hardship and he was told by two case managers that there was nothing they could do. After six months of run around and delays, Rob reached out to us for help.

Frustrated and feeling that he was treated unfairly, Rob reach out to us for help. We investigated whether Interior Health communicated to Rob adequately about his fee concerns. Our investigation found that the health authority did not have any record that Rob was provided with information on who their case manager was when his wife was admitted or when the case manager changed. Case managers were supposed to contact clients to provide their contact information. We were also unable to find any record of Rob’s enquiries about financial assistance or the Temporary Rate Reduction until six months after his wife’s admission. We were concerned that the information available to clients and their families was not as clear or accessible as it should be. When we raised our concerns with the health authority they agreed to provide a contact list to clients and/or their families as soon as possible following their admission to a long-term care facility. They also committed to work towards adopting the practice regionally. The health authority also agreed to update their website to include a link to the Ministry of Health’s Temporary Rate Reduction webpage and to backdate Rob’s application to the date of Lana’s admission to the residential care facility.

As the health authority agreed to take the steps necessary to resolve the fairness concerns identified, we ended our investigation and closed our file.