Coast Salish Territory – The First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) and the Health Standards Organization (HSO) have released the British Columbia (BC) Cultural Safety and Humility Standard, a tool that will enable organizations to address indigenous-specific racism and build a culturally safe health care environment.
The standard was developed by Indigenous thought leaders and health professionals with a focus on designing, implementing, and evaluating culturally safe systems and services at the organizational and institutional level.
The first of its kind in Canada, this standard provides a toolkit for the BC health system and is the deliverable for Recommendation 8 from the In Plain Sight report on widespread Indigenous specific racism in the delivery of health care.
The development of this standard was driven by a First Nations-led technical committee and supported by the FNHA, with additional input from Métis Nation BC.
The public review process received 1,100 comments in total that were reviewed by the technical committee and contributed to the final standard.
The First Nations Health Council and the First Nations Health Directors Association have unanimously endorsed the BC Cultural Safety and Humility Standard, as it will help the health system to improve and better meet the needs of First Nations.
Richard Jock, CEO, FNHA
“The standard was developed by Indigenous thought leaders and champions, providers, patient partners, administrators, academics, and knowledge keepers, co-chaired by Gerry Oleman and Dr. Nel Wieman. I am grateful for their dedication and thoroughness. The Cultural Safety and Humility standard is a quality-based approach to make the BC's health and social service institutions safer for all Indigenous people."
Leslee Thompson, CEO, HSO
“We are extremely proud of our partnership with the First Nations Health Authority in making this happen. The British Columbia Cultural Safety and Humility standard has the potential to directly impact individual lives and the experience of people who interact within the health systems within British Columbia and beyond."
Coleen Erickson, Chair, FNHA
“The Cultural Safety and Humility Standard is a critical next step in the ongoing efforts to address Indigenous-specific racism. The adoption of this new standard will lead to better health outcomes for BC First Nations now and into the future. I lift my hands and acknowledge the hard work and meaningful collaboration of all who worked to deliver this important document."
Wade Grant, Chair, FNHC
“We honour the Indigenous leaders and health professionals who created this essential tool on cultural safety and humility to help address the need for trauma-informed and culturally-relevant care to improve health and wellness for First Nations people."
Keith Marshall, President, FNHDA
“This new Cultural Safety and Humility Standard is an important new tool for Health Directors working in communities across First Nations in BC and sets a clear standard of care for the system overall in our ongoing work to ensure all Indigenous residents of BC are treated with dignity and respect and have access to culturally grounded health care services."
Louis De Jaegar, MNBC Minister of Health, Regional Director for the Lower Mainland
“Métis Nation British Columbia welcomes the distinctions-based approach that the Standard development team and Technical Committee have taken through the creation of the Cultural Safety and Humility standard. This is an important step towards building a culture of anti-racism, quality, and safety within the health system for all First Nations, Métis and Inuit. We look forward to working with organizations to educate them on what it means to be Métis and help them to develop practices and protocols that will improve health outcomes for Métis people and our Métis Chartered Communities across the province."
