A guide for families
What an Ontario retirement home must do
Ontario retirement homes are licensed and inspected under the Retirement Homes Act, 2010. Most families never read it, and it contains two things worth knowing tonight: what your relative is entitled to, and the written document you can ask to see.
We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice. It is a plain-English summary of the Retirement Homes Act, 2010 with links to the Act itself, so you can read the wording that applies to your relative and decide what to do. Read the Act ↗
The Residents’ Bill of Rights
Section 51 of the Act sets out rights every licensee must fully respect. Below is a plain-English summary. The RHRA requires the Bill of Rights to be displayed inside every licensed home, so if you cannot find it on a wall, that is a fair thing to ask about.
She helps build her own plan of care
Act, s. 51 ↗Not just be told about it. The Act gives her the right to participate fully in developing, implementing, reviewing and revising her plan of care, and in any decision about her care.
She can say no
Act, s. 51 ↗She may give or refuse consent to any treatment, care or service for which consent is required by law, and she is entitled to be told what happens either way.
She is not restrained casually
Act, s. 51, s. 68, s. 69 ↗The Act gives a right not to be restrained except in accordance with the common law, and separately regulates personal assistance services devices.
Privacy, including while being cared for
Act, s. 51 ↗A right to privacy in treatment and in caring for her personal needs, as well as privacy in her own space and in her records.
Safety, cleanliness, courtesy and dignity
Act, s. 51 ↗A right to live in a safe and clean environment, treated with courtesy and respect, in a way that recognises her as an individual.
Her life stays hers
Act, s. 51 ↗A right to have her lifestyle and choices respected, and to pursue her social, cultural, religious and spiritual interests.
Protection from abuse and neglect
Act, s. 67 ↗The Act places a duty on the licensee to protect residents from abuse and neglect, and it defines what those mean rather than leaving it to judgement.
The written plan of care
Act, s. 62 ↗Every resident of a licensed retirement home must have a written plan of care. It is not optional, and it is not internal-only.
- It sets out the care services she is entitled to receive under her agreement with the home, whether or not she is actually receiving them.
- It sets out the services the home will provide, including the detail of each, what they are meant to achieve, and clear directions to the staff who provide her care.
- She has the right to take part in developing it and in reviewing and revising it, which means you can ask when it was last reviewed and what changed.
If you only do one thing after reading this, ask to see it. A plan of care that has not been reviewed since move-in, on a resident whose needs have clearly changed, is a specific and answerable question rather than a vague worry.
If you need to raise something
In this order. Going straight to the regulator is usually slower and harder on a relationship you still need, unless a resident is at risk right now.
Start with the home, in writing
Act, s. 73 ↗Licensed homes must have a written procedure for complaints, and must respond. Putting it in writing turns a corridor conversation into something with a date on it, which matters if it goes further.
Ask about the Residents' Council
Act, s. 56, s. 58 ↗Residents may establish a Residents' Council, and the home has duties towards it. A concern raised through the Council is harder to lose than one raised by one family.
Then the RHRA
The Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority licenses and inspects every retirement home in Ontario and takes complaints directly. Urgent risk to a resident does not wait for step one.
How to make a complaint to the RHRA ↗
None of this makes a home adversarial. Most Directors of Care would rather hear a specific question from a family than a general anxiety, and asking about a plan of care is a normal thing to do, not an accusation.