Quality of Care

Quality care means getting the right care, at the right time, in the right place with the right healthcare provider.

Women need health information, treatment and services that respect our choices, understand our life circumstances and provide safe, timely, effective care.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) defines high quality care as appropriate (evidence-based), patient-centred, safe and timely.

Access to quality health care is about more than just doctors and hospitals. The Women & Health Care Reform Canadian study states quality of care is about “having access to the basic resources for health and a comprehensive range of services that are safe and support the best health outcomes”.

Women have a unique perspective and specific needs in terms of quality of care:

Women use health services more often than men.
Women are often responsible for overseeing the health care of children and other family members.
Women make up the largest numbers of paid and unpaid healthcare providers in our system.

The Women & Health Care Reform quality of care study found the three most important elements of care for women are:

Accessibility - women want timely, barrier-free access to the resources and services they need to stay healthy or recover from illness.
Respect - women want healthcare providers to be respectful and sensitive to their needs and concerns, whatever their age, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic class, country of origin, etc..
Competency - women want skilled healthcare providers to deliver care safely and effectively, in a way that addresses their physical, mental and emotional needs.

BC Women's quality of care

BC Women’s works to promote access to high quality, women-centered care, here, and across the province anywhere you receive maternity and women’s specialized health services.

BC Women’s strives to deliver health care services that:

respect your needs
are sensitive to the realities of your life

Our approach moves away from the traditional model of health where you are seen as a collection of body parts (e.g. uterus, breasts) or a disease (e.g. osteoporosis) towards a life-span view of women’s health and needs for care. A life-span approach recognizes that your health needs change at different stages of your life.

This approach to quality care aims to provide you with consistent information at every stage of your life, enabling you to make informed decisions about your own health.

Provincial quality of care

The British Columbia Patient Safety & Quality Council (BCPSQC) works to make improvements to health care in BC. The BCPSQC works with government, health care authorities and other organizations to ensure high quality care is available to all patients.

The BCPSQC’s purpose is to:

improve your and your loved one’s safety and care
reduce errors in health care treatments and delivery
promote clear communication between health care providers and patients.

Some BCPSQ initiatives include implementing clinical guidelines and pre-surgery checklists to investigating adverse events and leading improvement initiatives at all levels of the health care system.‎

Provincial Health Services Authority

Quality of Care

BC Women's quality of care

Provincial quality of care

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