BILL NO. 58
(as introduced)
1st Session, 64th General Assembly
Nova Scotia
70 Elizabeth II, 2021
Private Member's Bill
Homes for Special Care Act
(amended)
The Honourable Kelly Regan
Bedford Basin
First Reading: October 27, 2021
Second Reading:
Third Reading:
Explanatory Note
This Bill establishes a Residents' Bill of Rights for residents in a residential care facility, a nursing home or a home for aged or disabled persons and provides for its display and enforcement.
An Act to Amend Chapter 203
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Homes for Special Care Act
Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:
1 Subsection 2(1) of Chapter 203 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Homes for Special Care Act, as amended by Chapter 17 of the Acts of 2010, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (m) the following clause:
- (ma) "Residents' Bill of Rights" means the list of rights enumerated under subsection 8F(1);
2 Chapter 203 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 8E the following Section:
- 8F (1) Every licensee shall ensure that the following rights of residents are fully respected and promoted:
(a) the right to be treated with courtesy and respect and in a way that fully recognizes the resident's individuality and respects the resident's dignity;
(b) the right to have the resident's participation in decision-making respected, the resident's participation in the resident's plan of care guaranteed and to bring in any other persons to assist the resident in these matters, as needed;
(c) the right to have adequate and appropriate staffing at all times and to know the identification of all of the resident's caregivers;
(d) the right to be protected from abuse or neglect;
(e) the right to a single room for both personal privacy an infection control reasons;
(f) the right to be properly sheltered, clothed, groomed and cared for in a manner consistent with the resident's needs;
(g) the right to high quality, nutritious meals that comply with the resident's dietary needs;
(h) the right to live in a safe, clean and meaningfully active environment;
(i) the right to exercise the rights of a citizen;
(j) the right to maintain full autonomy, up to the resident's capability of doing so, over such thing as the right to manage the resident's own money, visits and communications in private;
(k) the right to be afforded privacy in treatment and in caring for the resident's personal needs;
(l) the right to keep and display personal possessions, pictures and other furnishings in the resident's room, subject to safety requirements and the rights of other residents;
(m) the right to maintain interests, friendships and intimacy;
(n) when dying or very ill, the right to have family and friends present 24 hours per day;
(o) the right to live in the same facility as the resident's spouse as long as the placement does not negatively impact the health of either of the spouses;
(p) the right to participate in the life of the facility;
(q) the right to have the resident's lifestyle choices respected; and
(r) the right to pursue social, cultural, religious, spiritual and other interests, to develop the resident's potential and to be given reasonable assistance to pursue those interests and to develop that potential.
(2) A licensee shall display the Residents' Bill of Rights in a prominent location in every facility for which the licensee holds a license.
(3) A resident may enforce the Residents' Bill of Rights against the licensee as though the resident and licensee had entered into a contract under which the licensee had fully agreed to fully respect and promote all of the rights set out in the Residents' Bill of Rights.
(4) A licensee shall develop an accountability system for quarterly inspections of the facility and to ensure all rights in subsection (2) are being respected.
3 Section 19 of Chapter 203, as amended by Chapter 9 of the Acts of 2007 and Chapter 17 of the Acts of 2010, is further amended by adding immediately after clause (f) the following clause:
- (fa) governing how rights set out in the Residents' Bill of Rights must be respected and promoted by licensees;
This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2021 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created October 27, 2021. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.
