Northern Health is working toward a health care system where everyone feels welcome, respected, and able to access quality care. Our work in inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) is guided by a simple but powerful insight from our own people: IDEA is compassion.
Compassion begins within our teams. When staff feel included and supported, they stay. When staff stay, patients receive better continuity of care. When care reflects the communities we serve, people trust the system enough to use it. Inclusion isn’t separate from compassionate care -- it’s fundamental to it.
Our commitment in action
Governance
Meaningful change requires clear accountability. Northern Health has established dedicated structures to ensure IDEA work is sustained and connected to decision-making.
Accessibility
Northern Health is developing an Accessibility Plan in accordance with the Accessible British Columbia Act. This plan will guide how we identify, remove, and prevent barriers across our services, facilities, and employment -- so that people of all abilities can fully participate.
Provincial mandates and legislative framework
Our IDEA work is guided by and aligned with several provincial legislative frameworks and government mandates.
Requires health authorities to establish accessibility committees, develop accessibility plans, and create public feedback mechanisms for identifying and removing barriers.
Enables collection and use of demographic data to identify and address systemic racism and inequities in government services, including health care.
Requires alignment of provincial laws and policies with UNDRIP, with direct implications for how health services are designed and delivered for Indigenous peoples.
Documented Indigenous-specific racism across BC’s health care system and issued 24 recommendations for health authorities to address systemic discrimination.
Prohibits discrimination in employment and services on the basis of race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and other protected grounds.
Provincial mandate letters to health authority boards set expectations for advancing equity, diversity, inclusion, and cultural safety across governance and service delivery.
Resources
- Accessibility and Inclusion Toolkit - Province of BC
- BC Accessibility Hub
- BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner
- Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI)
- Disability Alliance BC
- First Nations Health Authority (FNHA)
- Health Authority Accountability - Province of BC
- Trans Care BC - Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA)
Your feedback is essential. We are currently developing a dedicated feedback portal where you can share barrier experiences and your ideas to help Northern Health become more accessible.
Contact
Questions, feedback, or accessibility requests: idea@northernhealth.ca