BCCNM reviews all complaints about all nurses (licensed graduated nurse, licensed practical nurses, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and registered psychiatric nurses) and midwives currently or formerly registered to practise in British Columbia.
Complaints must be submitted in writing to BCCNM by email, fax or mail. Complaints must describe a specific concern about the conduct, competence, or health ailment (impairing practise) of an individual nurse or midwife. BCCNM does not have jurisdiction to review complaints that are not related to an individual nurse or midwife’s practice, such as health care facility policies.
Follow the steps below to prepare and submit your complaint
- Preparing your complaint
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Your submission must include:
| Your name, address, phone number and/or email where you can be reached. |
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The full name of the nurse or midwife about whom you are making the complaint. If you don’t know the nurse/midwife’s name, you may need to contact the relevant facility to speak with the manager of the unit, or request a copy of your medical records in order to obtain the name of the nurse or midwife about whom you are complaining.
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Please note that BCCNM’s professional standards require nurses and midwives to clearly and accurately represent themselves with respect to their name, title and role.
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| The hospital, health care facility, or location, e.g. in your home, where the complaint arose. If applicable, please include the nursing/midwifery unit. |
- Details of the complaint
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In order for us to investigate your complaint, we require specific details about what happened. For example:
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What did the nurse or midwife do to cause you concern? Please be as specific as possible in describing what took place.
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When did the incident(s) occur?
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Were there any witnesses to the incident(s)? If so, what do you believe they witnessed? Please provide the name and contact information for the witnesses.
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Describe in detail how you attempted to address these concerns with the nurse/midwife and/or the manager/hospital administrator. Please provide the name of anyone you spoke to in an effort to address your concerns. Please include any contact information you have for each individual, such as their title, phone number and/or email address.
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Please describe how you think your concerns could be resolved.
- How to submit your complaint
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Email: complaints@bccnm.ca
Fax: 604.899.0794
Mail: 900 – 200 Granville St., Vancouver, BC V6C 1S4
Important
In the course of an investigation, information provided will be disclosed, where relevant, to the nurse/midwife and witnesse(s). This disclosure is in accordance the Health Professions Act. Although most written complaints are resolved without a discipline hearing, information provided to or obtained by BCCNM in the course of investigation may become public if a hearing is required.
If you have any questions about how to submit a written complaint, call the Intake Advisor at 604.742.6200 in Metro Vancouver or toll-free 1.866.880.7101 in Canada.
Resources
Case studies
Sample complaint letters