The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted long-standing issues in Canada’s long-term care sector and exposed a fragmented system. At SCC, we believe that standardization is one piece of the solution as it has demonstrated its effectiveness in many sectors over the last century. 

Standards, and conformity to those standards, can help ensure that Canada’s long-term care home settings are safe, properly supported and that residents receive the quality of care they need and deserve. 

In early 2021, we called upon the Health Standards Organization (HSO) and the Canadian Standards Association (also known as CSA Group) to develop two complementary long-term care standards.  

Both standards are published and available:  

• The CAN/HSO 21001:2023 Long-Term Care Services provides long-term care home teams, leaders, and governing bodies with criteria and guidelines for delivering safe, reliable, and high-quality long-term care services, enabled by a healthy and competent workforce. 
• The CSA Z8004:22 Long-Term Care Home Operations and Infection Prevention and Control provides guidance on safe operating practices and effective infection prevention and control practices in long-term care homes.  

Our role 

A multifaceted approach was required to fully respond to the challenges in long-term care, and we believe that Canada’s standardization system can offer one piece of the solution. Ensuring we have solid standards implemented across Canada for infection control and overall quality of care in long-term care homes is key to protecting the most vulnerable people.  

At SCC, we work with a vast network of partners, which includes standards development organizations such as CSA Group and HSO, provincial and territorial governments, regulators, Canadian experts and others to promote the value of standards and conformity assessment. Both CSA Group and HSO are Standards Development Organizations accredited by SCC. Only standards development organizations that are accredited by SCC can issue national standards of Canada. 

SCC provided funding to develop these two new standards and to make them available at no cost for the public. We also reviewed the development process for standards submitted for approval as National Standards of Canada. Both standards were developed using a rigorous standards development process, founded on consensus-based decisions and relying on the input from a broad range of stakeholders through public reviews.  

Learn more 

• HSO and CSA Group Publish National Long-Term Care Standards
• Find out how national standards are developed 
• New National Long-Term Care Standards to Provide Safer Environment and High-Quality Care 
• Learn more about our role