Sometimes, you may complain or appeal, and an agreement is reached, either in a hearing or through a settlement between the parties, but the agreement is not followed by the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC). What should you do?
The best way to respond to this type of situation is to be prepared ahead of time, in case it ever happens. Non-compliance (the CCAC not following through with something you agreed to) might apply to a plan of care, the amount of service you are supposed to receive, when it is supposed to be delivered or by whom. It is important to keep good records of all meetings with your CCAC and get all agreements in writing.
Ask for:
- minutes of meetings or any case conferences about your care
- letters to confirm decisions made at meetings
- a plan of care that outlines hours of service, type of service, and who will provide the service
- a description of how the workers providing your service are to be trained (one of the most common complaints families make is that they have to take time to train all the workers)
- confirmation that your services won’t be changed (or cut) without your knowledge or an opportunity for you to be involved in the decision
If your CCAC will not provide you with written confirmation about these matters, consider making your own notes and providing them to the CCAC for their records. It might also be a good idea to keep your own notes about worker visits. For example, it would be useful to note how many different workers come to your home to provide service, whether they arrive at the scheduled time and whether they are trained or if you have to provide training.
It might also be a good idea to make a brief note about worker visits if anything unusual takes place, particularly about any injuries to workers or any worker complaints. It might take a few minutes to prepare your notes, but the time is well spent as they create a picture of how your service is provided on a daily basis, and that picture can be very useful if there is ever a disagreement.