A caregiver is someone who provides direct physical and emotional care to people of all ages with changes their health, chronic health conditions, and/or disabilities.
Tips & Links
A caregiver can be a family member, close friend, neighbour, or a employed person from the health authority or hired from a private agency.
Learn About
- Learn about the differences of public versus private services and how they are funded from the Government of BC.
- Talk about what help you need and what home care services might be right for you with information from the Government of BC.
- Understand that receiving publicly-funded support in your home requires a home care assessment from your health authority funded by the Government of BC.
- Learn about the many publicly-funded and private caregiver agencies throughout BC – each with their own standards and level of care provided, from care companions to registered or hospice trained nurses. the many types of home care services available in BC from Route.65.
Things You Can Do
- Be aware that family care partners and caregiving can be very stressful. Know that there is a Family-CaregiverBC Support Line toll-free at 1-877-520-3267.
- Learn about the role of caregiver support groups, in-person and virtually, from the Family-CaregiversBC.
- Visit the learning centre for resources, videos and course at Family-CaregiversBC.
- Learn about caregiving for people with dementia from Healthlink BC.
- Explore ways to support and care for your caregivers mentally and physically from Government of BC.
- Know about your patient rights including informed consent, privacy and confidentiality, and the right to refuse or accept care.
- Develop your self-advocacy skills to ensure your questions are answered and your needs and decisions are heard.
- Ask questions of all your health care providers and seek clarification on anything you do not understand.
- Choose a health advocate to assist you when you are not feeling well or strong enough to complete these tasks on your own.
- Learn about ‘Patients as Partners’ from the Government of BC.
Add your Caregivers to your My Health Care & Business Professionals PDF and/or your Care Partners PDF found in My People. List their contact information and any questions you have. Save digital and print copies for easy access. Explore the activity My Daily Activities and Personal Needs in My Day to Day to determine how caregivers may assist you.