British Columbia's home and community care system is administered through five regional health authorities, not a single provincial body. This means the entry point, the wait times, and the services available all depend on where your family member lives. Knowing which health authority covers them — and how to contact it — is the essential first step.
BC divides publicly funded home and community care across: Fraser Health (Surrey, Burnaby, Abbotsford, and the Fraser Valley); Interior Health (Kelowna, Kamloops, and the BC Interior); Island Health (Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands); Northern Health (Prince George and northern BC); and Vancouver Coastal Health (Vancouver, Richmond, North Shore, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor). Each has its own home and community care office and its own contact process.
If you are unsure which health authority applies, call HealthLinkBC on 811 — free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They will direct you to the right place and can advise on eligibility before you make a formal application.
To access any publicly funded home and community care service in BC, you need a clinical assessment by a health professional from your regional health authority. There is no single online application — the process begins with a phone call.
You can initiate it yourself: call your health authority's home and community care office and request an assessment. No referral from a GP is needed, though a GP, nurse, pharmacist, or social worker can also make the referral on your family member's behalf. Either route works equally well.
Have ready: your family member's BC Services Card, their GP's name and contact details, a list of current medications, and basic income information (needed for means-tested services). A health professional will then visit the home to assess care needs, determine eligibility, and discuss what services are appropriate and at what cost.
Home support covers personal assistance — bathing, dressing, grooming — and carer respite provided in the home. It is for people assessed as needing personal care assistance, not general domestic cleaning. Most basic home support carries no direct cost.
Community nursing provides wound care, medication management, post-surgical monitoring, and clinical support in the home. Delivered by registered nurses and licensed practical nurses through the health authority.
Adult day programs offer structured programming outside the home — social activities, therapeutic support, and transport in many areas. These are also a meaningful source of respite for family carers.
Long-term care (residential care) is for people assessed as requiring 24-hour nursing care and supervision. Publicly funded in licensed facilities across BC. The maximum client rate in 2025 is $4,073.40 per month — income-tested, meaning lower-income residents pay proportionally less. If payment would cause serious financial hardship, apply to the health authority for a temporary rate reduction.
Home support is often accessible within weeks of assessment. Adult day programs carry moderate waits depending on location. Long-term care placement is where waits become significant: in the Lower Mainland and Victoria, waits for a preferred facility regularly extend to 12 months or more. Rural areas tend to have shorter waits but fewer facility options.
The single most important thing is to start the assessment process early — before the situation becomes urgent. Being assessed and on a waitlist does not commit you to accepting a placement when one becomes available. You can always decline.
"The clock starts at assessment, not at the moment you decide you need a placement. Apply early."
If your family member is hospitalised and it becomes clear they cannot return home safely, ask the hospital social worker to initiate a continuing care assessment and referral directly. Hospital-initiated referrals move faster than community-initiated ones — the discharge team has the clinical information needed and a clear reason to act. Do not wait to raise this: the earlier in the admission the conversation starts, the more options are available.
First call: HealthLinkBC on 811. Free, 24 hours, seven days. They will direct you to your health authority's home and community care office and can advise before you make a formal application.
Last reviewed: May 2026. Government programme details, costs, and contact numbers change. Verify current information directly with the relevant health authority or government body before acting.
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