On, Monday, November 30, 2020, following the investigation into Indigenous racism in B.C.’s healthcare system, Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond released a summary report In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care.

From the report’s findings, independent reviewer, Dr. Turpel-Lafond identified the existing and systemic problem of discrimination, resulting in a response of 24 recommendations aimed to advance actions for a comprehensive change approach in healthcare moving forward.

The College of Chiropractors of BC (the College) recognizes that there’s a lot more work to do in supporting a culturally safe healthcare system. The College is committed to continuously moving forward with this work together with the Colleges of the BC Heath Regulators (BCHR), the Ministry of Health and other partners. We look forward to considering the recommendations and taking action that will support changes in the healthcare system to eliminate Indigenous-specific racism, systemic racism, prejudice, and discrimination.

The College serves to protect the public interest by setting standards for the practice of chiropractic. Patients of all races, nationalities or ethnic origins, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital or family status, disability, age, religion, or political belief have the right to expect ethical care from registrants.

What continuous actions has the College taken to support cultural safety and humility?

The CCBC’s efforts regarding Indigenous cultural safety and humility include:

• The signing of the Declaration of Commitment to Cultural Safety and Humility on March 1, 2017 along with all other health profession regulators, the Ministry of Health and the First Nations Health Authority.

• Cultural competency amongst the health professionals we regulate is prioritized in the CCBC’s current strategic plan under the first goal: Protect the public by ensuring that registrants deliver professional, effective and ethical services. 
• In support of the need for culturally appropriate healthcare services, the College has adopted a culturally safe and sensitive practice policy. 
• Promotion of the San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety training with registrants and granting of continuing education credit for course completion has occurred since 2016. CCBC annual registration asks registrants to report completion of the course and results are shared with the UBC Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Health. 
• Registrant education events provided by the CCBC with Indigenous groups and speakers (eg. First Nations Health Authority presentation in 2017, Rupert Ross, retired crown prosecutor in 2018). 
• Since August 2020, the College has had a standing column on cultural safety and humility resources in the College’s registrant newsletter.

What evolving actions will the College take to support cultural safety and humility in the future?

The following are some of the College’s goals and plans for Indigenous cultural safety and humility.

• The College’s strategic goal regarding quality assurance is currently being pursued with a review of Indigenous cultural safety and humility program access and development for registrants. 
• Mandatory cultural safety training for registrants is being discussed by our Board and Quality Assurance Committee. The decision is not whether a course will become mandatory, but rather, what quality courses are accessible and are a reasonable cost to registrants. 
• We are aware of work underway by the BCHR to develop more fulsome and consistent standards for health professionals on Indigenous cultural safety and look forward to incorporating these standards. 
• We are pursuing Indigenous groups and speakers for a virtual session and for future education events.

In collaboration with B.C.’s health regulators, the College acknowledges that more work can be done and that we can strive to do better. This means being open to new ideas and opportunities to develop initiatives that support the goals of cultural safety and humility for patient-centered care. We would like to hear from you, if you have any questions or comments on ways to support Indigenous cultural safety and humility, please contact the College.

For more details we encourage you to visit the Government of BC’s Addressing Racism page and to learn more from the summary and the full report.