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About CNO > Council & Committees > Meetings > Connecting with Council
Page modified October 27, 2009
About CNO
Council and Committees
Connecting with Council
Dec. 3 and 4, 2008
This document highlights key decisions made at the December 2008 Council meeting.
On this page:
Preparing for legislative changes
On June 4, 2009, a wide range of amendments to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) will come into effect. A significant priority for Council is to address changes needed for the College to comply with the amendments.
One of the most significant changes to the legislation is the requirement that the Register be on the College’s website and that it contain additional information. Proposed changes to Articles 44.1 (the Register) and 44.2 (Information from members) of the General By-Law were circulated to members and stakeholders with The Standard in the fall. Council received a report of the feedback and approved the amended Articles, to come into effect on June 4, 2009.
The legislation also combines the roles of the Complaints Committee, Executive Committee (with regards to cases) and Board of Inquiry into the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC). Council approved amendments to Article 18 of the General By-Law articulating the structure of the ICRC. To accommodate potential workload changes with new mandatory reports, the Articles related to the structure of the Discipline (Article 19) and Fitness to Practise (Article 20) were amended to allow for flexibility in the committee membership. These by-law changes will come into effect on June 4, 2009 and the amended by-laws will be posted on the College’s website.
Quality Assurance Program Changes
In response to feedback from members, and to be prepared for new legislative requirements, Council approved a new Quality Assurance Program in September. The Quality Assurance regulation was amended to support the new program. It was circulated to members and stakeholders in the fall. Council received a report of the feedback to the proposed regulation and approved the regulation for forwarding to government.
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Documentation Standard
It is in the public interest that nurses have up to date guidance about their professional accountability when documenting care. The College’s Documentation practice standard was last revised in 2002. Feedback to the College had identified that the practice standard was out-of-date and no longer provided the direction needed to support nurses in practice. With research and extensive input from members, the practice standard was revised. Council approved the revised Documentation practice standard, which was sent to all members with the Winter edition of The Standard.
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Patient Relations Program
The RHPA requires that each health regulatory College have a Patient Relations Program. The purpose of this program is to help health professionals (in the College’s case, nurses), enhance relations with patients or clients. The program is intended to help members of the public understand the role of regulatory bodies and nurses, and that they can expect to receive safe, effective and ethical care from nurses. Almost everything the College does affects patient relations, for example:
- The College’s Outreach Program supports nurses in practising according to College standards and guidelines in changing environments; and
- The College’s resolution approach to enforcement supports nurses in taking accountability for their actions and improving future practice while protecting the public.
The full 2008 Patient Relations Program Report is available on the College’s website.
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Program Approval
Council received a report of the Practical Nurse Program Approval Committee and granted five-year approval to the Practical Nurse Programs at Algonquin College and George Brown College. The approval status for the Lambton College Practical Nurse Program was upgraded from a Conditional to a five-year approval, ending on December 2012. Council granted the Practical Nurse Programs at Sheridan College and St. Clair College Conditional Approval.
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