Code of Ethics

INTRODUCTION

Given that the Wales is staffed with competent and devoted personnel, this Code of Ethics is a work tool and a reference manual regarding the conduct and attitude that each caregiver should exhibit towards residents when providing services and upholding their rights and towards other caregivers. To ensure this Code’s daily application, vigilance is required at each institutional level to consistently maintain the respect of residents’ rights.
Vigilance is also important considering generational differences. In most cases, there is a three-generation gap between the employee and the resident. This chasm may result in differing values; consequently, adapting our behaviour, language, and attitudes when we care for seniors is important. Our own principles influence our actions. These values can differ from those of the residents and families we serve.
Residents’ rights are established in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Act Respecting Health and Social Services. Beyond the adherence to laws and regulations, when issues arise, good work ethics are aimed at finding adequate solutions that respect individuals’ positions while complying with the establishment’s requirements and mandate. These distinct beliefs put us at the centre of a complex process from which must emerge a common vision that is essential to providing quality services adapted to the diverse resident group’s needs.

The Wales must protect these rights for its residents, including the wide range of services offered daily to the general population and to more vulnerable residents. To make this document easier to read and for the sake of conciseness, we have not reproduced the relevant legislative text. If a resident is inapt, their representative is then implicated. Also, the term “caregiver” refers to any employee providing care or services to residents. The legislative documents are available for consultation in the Executive Director’s office.

Basic Principle

Employees’ fundamental attitude related to residents should be to provide the same treatment, care, consideration, respect, and human rights they would want for themselves or their loved ones in a similar situation. In return, residents should behave with other residents and with the personnel in the same manner they would like to be treated. Any non-compliance with the Wales’s Code of Ethics must be promptly reported to the immediate supervisor. During employee orientation, new hires are asked to read the Code of Ethics and sign to attest their adherence. The Code of Ethics is also included in residents’ admission packages.
Brendalee Piironen
Executive Director

 

RESPECT AND DIGNITY

A resident has the right to:

  • Receive a warm welcome in their new living environment
  • To be treated with courtesy, fairness, understanding, and respect for their dignity, autonomy, needs, and safety
  • Receive care and services in English or French
  • Live free from harassment. Physical or verbal violence, intimidation, and indecent or sexual contact will not be tolerated
  • Live in an environment that facilitates physical and emotional privacy in human relations and sexuality

Residents are responsible for:

  • Acting with courtesy, discretion, tact, and respect towards the caregiver, other residents, and visitors

Employees are responsible for:

  • Adapting to the resident’s pace
  • Addressing the resident as Mr., Mrs., or Miss and using the formal term "vous" when speaking French. The informal expression "tu," the first name, or a nickname can be used only if requested by the resident – in this case, the resident’s preference must be recorded in their file
  • Respecting residents’ dignity. When administering care that requires privacy, ensure that the door is closed, and the privacy curtain is drawn. When residents are transported to the bathroom, employees make sure they are properly covered
  • Knocking before entering a resident’s room and, when possible, waiting for a response from the resident before approaching
  • Never, under any circumstances, telling a resident that they are causing a disturbance by using the call bell. When the resident uses resources inappropriately, observations should be reported to the caregivers’ immediate supervisor
  • Treating other caregivers with respect, courtesy, and acting in a dignified manner
  • Employees who are neither a spouse nor a close relative of a donor or testator may not accept a donation or a legacy where the donation or legacy was made at a time when the donor or testator was cared for or receiving services in the residence
  • Employees must not solicit residents for money or anything else
  • Staff attire should be adequate and decent

The establishment is responsible for:

  • Not tolerating abuse of any form, in compliance with the disciplinary policy
  • Assessing whether observed intimate relationships or sexual activities are abusive, and intervening accordingly
  • Investigating and evaluating any reports of inappropriate use of Wales resources
  • Designating Managers who are responsible for supervising front-line employees

DISCRETION AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Residents have the right to:

  • Privacy and confidentiality
  • Access to his own records

Residents are responsible for:

  • Understanding that, in no event, shall verbal, physical, or sexual abuse be tolerated including solicitation towards other residents, visitors, or employees

Employees are responsible for:

  • Ensuring confidentiality is respected when information is shared
  • Employees must not, under any circumstances, share information about a resident’s private life and health status outside of work-related needs
  • Employees should avoid having personal conversations in front of residents, including confidences about family, financial difficulties, or work issues

The establishment has the right to:

  • Use the last name, first name, and address of a resident to invite them to donate to the Wales Home Foundation. At any time, the resident can request that this practice be stopped
  • Use the last name, first name, address, and telephone number of a resident for the purpose of carrying out surveys to ascertain expectations and satisfaction with respect to the quality of services offered by the Wales

The Wales is responsible for:

  • Informing and ensuring caregivers are aware of the importance of confidentiality

QUALITY AND SAFETY IN HEALTH CARE

Residents have the right to:

  • Receive prompt emergency care
  • Receive health and social services that comply with the establishment’s policies from a scientific, human, and social point of view while considering its resources
  • Receive end-of-life services in a compassionate atmosphere and with respect for dignity within the Wales’s capabilities

Employees are responsible for:

  • Collecting information from professionals for the preparation and modification of an intervention plan
  • Implementing an intervention plan and transcribing progress notes in the resident file
  • Responding promptly to the call bell. If the caregiver is with another resident, they must make sure the resident is not in danger. If the call is not urgent, the caregiver should tell the resident that they will be back as soon as possible, or they will send another caregiver to answer
  • Informing the Nurse of any adjustments to the intervention plan and of any change in the resident’s behaviour
  • Communicating with the Physician and family, as needed
  • Completing the AH-223 form according to the established policy

The Wales is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that each resident has an individualized care plan according to the policy in place. The resident and/or their representative are invited to participate in the individualized care plan’s preparation
  • Revising the care plan as needed and informing the resident of any changes
  • Investigating and acting accordingly when a resident or their representative lacks respect for the Wales’s personnel
  • Creating an organizational environment in which both clinical and management mistakes are minimized and, when they do occur, are disclosed, and addressed effectively

CLIENT PARTICIPATION IN DECISIONS THAT CONCERN HIM

Residents have the right to:

  • Be informed about their own health
  • Be informed of any accident that occurs
  • Accept or refuse care in an enlightened manner
  • Participate in the decisions that concern them
  • Participate in the preparation of their intervention plan by expressing their desires and needs

Residents are responsible for:

  • Providing information to the nursing personnel regarding their desires and preferences
  • Expressing their needs to caregivers

Employees are responsible for:

  • Informing the resident of their health status
  • Informing the resident of any accident that affects them

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Residents have the right to:

  • Request explanations when the information given does not seem accurate, is incomplete, or is not understood
  • Question the staff to ensure they understand the information concerning them or any service, action, gesture, or treatment they deem unacceptable

Residents are responsible for:

  • Sharing relevant information regarding their medication, any known allergies, and other unusual details concerning their health, values, interests, and preferences

Employees are responsible for:

  • Facilitating the resident’s integration into their living environment
  • Acting with the assumption that the resident possesses the capacity to make choices. The caregiver must never decide for the resident, but can provide guidance
  • Facilitate obtention of information, support, and assistance
  • Provide residents with access to their file accompanied with the necessary explanations to ensure sufficient comprehension

The Wales is responsible for:

  • Ensuring that, when possible, each potential resident receives a pre-admission tour and obtains a welcome pamphlet and copies of the Code of Ethics and the complaint inquiry procedure
  • Ensuring accessibility and continuity of services and care within the establishment. If the services are not available, references are to be provided

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Residents have the right to:

  • Be informed of the complaint examination system procedure, the right to file a complaint without the risk of reprisal, and, if needed, the right to be accompanied or assisted in the procedure
  • Pastoral care to the extent that the Wales can provide

Residents are responsible for:

  • Treating other residents without discrimination and with fairness, considering their needs, life habits, and preferences
  • Expressing their dissatisfaction to the Nurse, the Users’ Committee and/or to the Local Quality of Services and Complaint Commissioner
  • Respecting the freedom of choice of other residents and respecting Wales employees within the law’s limits and to the extent that is not harmful to their safety or integrity

The Wales is responsible for:

  • Conducting annual surveys of residents and their representatives to ensure that their rights and dignity are respected
  • Ensuring that the Resident and Representative surveys measure satisfaction relating to the expression and respect of their individual choices
  • Following up on the needs expressed by residents in the satisfaction surveys

A CLEAN, CALM AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT

Residents have the right to:

  • Live in an environment free from danger to their physical, emotional, and psychological integrity
  • Live in an environment where access is controlled to prevent a person suffering from a cognitive disorder from leaving the establishment unattended. Controlled access also provides a means to protect residents’ belongings
  • Live in an environment in which they are well-treated and in which the actions and measures provided for and to the resident are conducive to their well-being, their vitality, and their decision-making power

Residents are responsible for:

  • Not putting themselves in any dangerous situations
  • Requesting help when needed

Employees are responsible for:

  • Explaining available services, how to access them, and confirming that the information given was understood
  • Using the equipment available while ensuring personal and resident safety. The caregiver must signal any malfunction

RIGHT TO QUALITY OF LIFE AND THE RESPECT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Quality of life is a concept composed of several elements that promote the resident’s well-being and feeling of belonging. From this concept, several residents’ rights are derived. This list includes major rights but is not exhaustive. A resident can exercise any right available to them even if that right is not specified on this list.

Residents have the right to:

  • Organize their room, suite, or apartment according to their preferences, considering the available space, safety, and area required for caregiving
  • Be accompanied or assisted by the person of their choice when making a complaint
  • Live a social life inside and outside of the Wales
  • Demonstrate an interest in their own appearance
  • Express sexuality in their room, suite, or apartment
  • Express personal taste among the foods available
  • Eat at their own chosen pace
  • Express themselves on the choice of leisure activities and participation
  • Smoke in the designated smoking areas in compliance with Québec’s Tobacco Act
  • Live in a calm environment, especially during the night and rest periods
  • Recognize personnel by their identification cards
  • Participate in the Users’ Committee
  • Be represented regarding their recognized rights
  • Receive visitors
  • Receive mail intact, including newspapers
  • Participate in municipal, provincial, and federal elections
  • Leave the Wales, provided there is no threat to their safety
  • Receive information from the caregiver concerning the different activities offered by the Wales
  • Other legal rights

Residents are responsible for:

  • Advising the Nurse if they want to leave the Wales and specifying the return time
  • Respecting Wales regulations regarding safety, hygiene, and infection prevention
  • Being respectful of Wales belongings and property

Employees are responsible for:

  • Encouraging participation in activities offered by the Wales
  • Making a reasonable effort to keep residents oriented in space and time
  • Ensuring there is no harassment, psychological or otherwise, when the resident exercises a right or makes a special request
  • Exuding positivity and reserving judgment
  • Valuing resident empowerment
  • Paying attention to residents’ safety and security

The Wales is responsible for:

  • Meeting regularly with the Users’ Committee and including respect of residents’ rights on the agenda
  • Ensuring that the Quality of Services and Complaints Commissioner provides special attention to the expression and respect of residents’ choices

 

“It is not enough for the elderly to have rights... they must be able to exercise them.”
(Jacoby, Ombudsman, Québec, 1990).

 

THE RESIDENTS DO NOT LIVE IN OUR WORKPLACE; WE WORK IN THEIR HOME

 

Updated January 2023