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Do You Need Help Understanding HCA Practice and Regulation?
The CLHA Professional Practice Team can answer your questions.
Health Care Aides (HCAs) have been a regulated profession since February 2, 2026. Being regulated means that HCAs are expected to follow common, Alberta-wide standards for their practice and professional conduct. As new professionals, HCAs may need help understanding what is required.
The College of LPNs and HCAs of Alberta (CLHA) has a Professional Practice Team who can answer your questions by phone or email. The Professional Practice Team can provide guidance about how regulatory requirements affect your practice. They also support employers, educators, and other interested parties.
Below are two examples of questions that have been asked and answered.
An HCA’s scope of practice varies across practice settings and even from person to person.
The Health Profession’s Act provides a practice statement to help inform HCA practice. The practice statement is written below.
In their practice, HCAs do one or more of the following:
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- Support activities of daily living to provide basic personal care and health services,
- Participate in client education and promotion of client wellness across the lifespan,
- Assist in teaching an approved HCA certificate program,
- Teach HCA techniques and practices to practitioners in the workplace, and
- Provide restricted activities identified by the regulations.
HCAs need to make sure the activities they are performing fit into one of these statements.
HCAs also need to make sure that they have the competence and employer supports to perform any tasks they are given. They then need to look carefully at their own competence, the needs of the client, and the supports available to them in their environment (e.g., availability of someone who can answer their questions, like a supervisor). All of this is outlined in the Determining HCA Scope of Practice guideline.
The HCA Decision-Making Tool provides step-by-step instructions to help HCAs determine if a specific task is within their individual scope of practice.
HCAs are permitted to perform basic wound care as specified in the client’s care plan. The HCA must be competent to provide the wound care required and have their employer’s support to provide wound care in that setting.
Basic wound care may include cleansing the wound, applying topical medication, and applying a simple dressing. For more information on how to determine if specific wound care is within your scope of practice, please see the linked CLHA practice guidelines, Activities of Daily Living and Determining HCA Scope of Practice.
Wound care that requires an assessment does not fall within the HCA scope of practice, as outlined in the CLHA info sheet, Understanding the Difference: Observation, Assessment, and Diagnosis.
It is important to note that any invasive procedures involving body tissue below the dermis are restricted activities, and HCAs are not authorized to perform these. Additionally, when wound care involves medication, HCAs must follow the requirements specified on page two of the linked CLHA Medication Assistance policy.