Something Isn’t Working With My Home Care

Start here — what kind of problem is this?

You already have Home & Community Care, but something about the care is not working as expected.

Maybe a visit was missed or repeatedly late. Maybe care that was supposed to happen was not completed. Maybe there is a scheduling, communication, dignity, language, cultural, spiritual or privacy concern. Or maybe you raised a concern and it is still unresolved.

This resource helps you describe the problem clearly, prepare useful notes and questions, and identify the next appropriate pathway if the concern is not resolved.

If this needs attention today

Changed needs — or care not working?

Use this quick check:

Sometimes both can happen one after the other. If needs changed first, use Things Have Changed — What Do We Do Now? for the reassessment / care-plan issue. If the newly planned care is then not delivered as expected, that later problem may be Something Isn't Working With My Home Care.

What should I write down?

Simple factual notes can make the conversation easier. Write down only what is useful for explaining the concern:

• the date and time;
• what care was expected;
• what actually happened;
• the provider or worker involved, if known;
• who you contacted and when;
• what response you received;
• what follow-up was promised;
• whether the concern is still unresolved.

Use calm, factual wording. For example:

Keep it practical. Your KYR notes are personal preparation notes. They are not a government complaint form, clinical record, legal record or proof that wrongdoing occurred.

Avoid adding unnecessary sensitive information such as your Alberta health number, detailed medical history, diagnoses, medication lists, financial information or unrelated personal details.

Who should I speak with first?

For an ordinary service concern, start with the provider, supervisor or manager responsible for the service.

If you receive publicly funded Home & Community Care and do not know your case manager, provider manager, provider type or which Home & Community Care office to contact, call 811 and ask to be connected with the Home & Community Care office for your area. 811 can help with navigation and health advice; it is not the body that investigates the service complaint.

Do not assume every concern must go through the case manager first. The right first contact can depend on the provider, care arrangement and issue.

If you purchased the care privately, start with the agency, company or person you hired and ask for their concern or complaint process. Check your service agreement for the contact or process that applies.

If you are worried about raising a concern, you can say that you are worried and ask how concerns are handled.

What should I say?

You can keep the first conversation simple. You do not need legal or government language.

• “This is what was supposed to happen, and this is what actually happened.”
• “Who is the right person to speak with about this concern?”
• “Who handles concerns like this for my care arrangement?”
• “Can you document this concern and tell me what happens next?”
• “What follow-up should I expect, and who should I contact if I do not hear back?”

If a current care-plan instruction is not being followed, you might say:

What should I ask for?

The goal is to understand how the concern will be handled. You can ask:

• Who is responsible for this concern?
• Can you document the concern?
• What will happen next?
• What follow-up should I expect?
• Who should I contact if the concern is not resolved?
• If my provider is Type 1 or Type 2, can I have a copy of its documented concern process and the written information about external complaint options?
• Can someone I trust help me with this conversation?

You do not need to ask every question. Choose the questions that help you understand the next step.

What if the concern is not resolved?

There is not one universal escalation ladder for every Home & Community Care concern.

If you have already raised a Home & Community Care concern with the provider or manager and it is still unresolved, you can contact Alberta’s Continuing Care Licensing Office at 1-888-357-9339, option 3, or use the Government of Alberta continuing-care complaint form.

If you use an external concern or complaint process, that gives you a pathway for review. It does not guarantee that the complaint will be upheld or that a particular remedy will happen.

This provider-first sequence is for ordinary service concerns. It is not a prerequisite to emergency response or another urgent or specialized pathway.

If the issue is that authorized care was not delivered, that is a service-delivery concern. If instead you disagree with a decision about authorized services, hours or a reassessment outcome, ask your case manager or program contact what review or reconsideration process applies to that decision. These are different issues.

A complaint process does not automatically mean a worker will be replaced, a provider will change, missed care will be restored, services will increase, compensation will be paid, discipline will occur, or the issue will be resolved within one universal deadline.

Why can the pathway differ?

The correct pathway can depend on:

• the provider type;
• the organization responsible for the service;
• the standards that apply;
• the kind of issue involved.

If you are not sure what provider type or care arrangement you have, you can ask your case manager or program contact to confirm it. KYR’s separate resource, Understanding Your Home Care Options, explains Home & Community Care options; this page does not reteach them.

The provincial Home & Community Care complaints process can receive concerns about Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 providers. The standards that apply are not identical.

Type 1 / Type 2 concern-process note

If your provider is Type 1 or Type 2, Alberta’s Continuing Care Health Service Standards require the provider to have a documented concern process and to provide written information about relevant external complaint processes when care begins and upon request.

A useful question is:

When this may need a different or urgent pathway

Some concerns should not be treated as an ordinary service-resolution problem.

Other situations may need a separate specialized pathway, depending on the facts:

Abuse / protection: where Protection for Persons in Care applies, it is a specialized route. Its coverage is legally defined, so KYR does not assume that it applies to every situation.

Suspected criminal conduct: police may be the appropriate route. If there is an emergency or immediate danger, call 911.

Privacy / confidentiality: start by raising the concern with the organization responsible for the information and ask who handles privacy concerns. If it is not resolved, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta may be the appropriate external route.

Regulated health professional: a professional regulator may have a complaint pathway. Do not assume every worker should automatically be reported to a college.

Possible human-rights issue: the Alberta Human Rights Commission may be the specialized body where the matter involves a protected ground and protected area. KYR does not decide that discrimination occurred.

Legal rights, damages or remedies: consider obtaining legal advice. KYR does not provide detailed legal instruction here.

Dignity, language, cultural, spiritual and privacy concerns

You can raise a concern about how a need or preference is being handled without first deciding that a law was broken.

• “I have a concern about how this need is being handled. Who should I speak with?”
• “How is this language / cultural / spiritual / modesty need recorded?”
• “I have a privacy or confidentiality concern. Who in your organization handles privacy concerns?”

Describe what happened and ask that the concern be addressed. KYR does not determine discrimination, a human-rights violation, a statutory privacy breach or legal liability.

For privacy or confidentiality concerns, start with the organization responsible for the information. If the concern is not resolved, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta may be the appropriate external route. You do not need to decide which privacy law applies before asking for help.

Questions I may want to ask

• Who is the right person to speak with about this concern?
• Who handles concerns like this for my care arrangement?
• Can you document this concern and tell me what happens next?
• What follow-up should I expect?
• Who should I contact if I do not hear back?
• If my provider is Type 1 or Type 2, can I have a copy of its documented concern process and written information about external complaint options?
• I am not sure what type of Home & Community Care provider I have. Who can confirm that for me?
• Can someone I trust help me with this conversation?
• If this remains unresolved, what is the next concern or review pathway for this service?

Discuss / decide

KYR helps you identify the issue, organize the facts, prepare questions and find the appropriate process.

KYR does not decide:

• that wrongdoing, negligence, abuse or discrimination occurred;
• that a privacy or legal breach occurred;
• that a professional committed misconduct;
• that a complaint must be upheld;
• that a particular remedy, worker, provider, service level or compensation must be provided;
• that one escalation route applies to every provider or every concern.

Print / Take-With-Me

MY HOME CARE CONCERN — NOTES FOR MY CONVERSATION

Use this as a practical note-taking tool for your conversation. Keep only the information you need.