Standards for safer health care facilities in Canada

7,000+

health care facilities

in Canada in 2020^[1]

31%

of harmful events

during hospital stays in Canada involved hospital-acquired infection in 2021-2022^[2]

24.3%

of Canada’s health spending

was allocated to hospitals in 2022^[3]

Health care facilities

Learn how standards can help build a scalable and secure digital infrastructure to meet the current and future needs of Canadian health care facilities.

Standards help create safe environments for health care delivery in Canada

There is strong evidence that health care environments, equipment, and processes can have positive effects on patient outcomes and the well-being of staff. Standards are an important part of the overall framework supporting health care delivery, helping create environments that promote healing, reduce the risk of infections, enhance safety, and support staff efficiency.

CSA Group has been leading the development and maintenance of health care standards for over 60 years. Our standards for health care facilities (HCF) address various crucial aspects of their design, systems, operation, and technology, including:

planning, design, and construction of all types of HCFs regardless of their size, location, or range of service
commissioning, operation, and maintenance of HCFs, including design studies and post occupancy evaluation
plumbing installations, including specialized water supply systems for operating rooms, laboratories, dialysis units, and other areas
heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems to ensure adequate indoor air quality and reduce the risk of airborne transmission of pathogens
infection prevention and control, including requirements for cleaning and disinfection processes in various specialized areas
illumination, area measurements, and wayfinding
handling of health care waste materials
digital infrastructure to support collaboration, efficiency, health outcomes, and patient experiences

CSA Group standards are essential to maintaining a well-functioning health care system and enhancing the safety and effectiveness of health care delivery across Canada.

Feature

Canadian health care facilities

CSA Z8000-18 provides requirements and guidance for the planning, design, and construction of all types of HCFs regardless of their size, location, or range of services.

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CSA Z8000-18 (R2023)

Canadian health care facilities

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Resources

CSA Group standards, research, policy briefs, and other resources

Leverage the resources developed by CSA Group and its technical committees for information, guidance, best practices, and requirements that help build better health care facilities and address the complex systems and processes that take place within them.

Report

Low Carbon Climate Resilient Health Care Facilities Design

Report

Northern, Small, and Remote Health Care Facilities Design

Research report

Data Governance for Active Assisted Living Technologies Along the Continuum of Care

Research report

Deployment of Health Care Facility Digital Infrastructure in Canada

Case study

CSA Z8000: Building for health and safety in our health care facilities

Article

Helping create safe environments for health care delivery in Canada

Read the article

Research report

Blockchain in Heath Care

Research report

Testing the Effect of Faucet Flowrate on Handwashing Efficacy

Research report

Infection Prevention and Control in Health Care Facility Design

Research report

Pressure Differential in Health Care Facility Airborne Isolation Rooms

CSA Z8000-18 (R2023)

Canadian health care facilities

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CAN/CSA Z8001-13 (R2023)

Commissioning of health care facilities

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CSA Z8002-19

Operation and maintenance of health care facilities

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CSA Z8003:21

Health care facility design studies and post-occupancy evaluation

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CSA Z8004-22

Long-term care home operation and infection prevention and control

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CSA Z32:21

Electrical safety and essential electrical systems in health care facilities

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CSA Z317.1:21

Special requirements for plumbing installations in health care facilities

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CSA Z317.2:19

Special requirements for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in health care facilities

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CSA Z317.5:17 (R2022)

Illumination design in health care facilities

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CSA Z317.10:21

Handling of health care waste materials

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CSA Z317.11:17 (R2022)

Area measurement for health care facilities

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CSA Z317.12:20

Cleaning and disinfection of health care facilities

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CSA Z317.13:22

Infection control during construction, renovation, and maintenance of health care facilities

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CSA Z317.14:17 (R2022)

Wayfinding for health care facilities

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CSA Z10535.1:15 (R2021)

Hoists for the transfer of disabled persons — Requirements and test methods

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CSA Z10535.2:17 (R2022)

Lifts for the transfer of persons - Installation, use, and maintenance

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CSA PLUS 317

Guidelines for Elementary Assessments of Building Systems in Health Care Projects

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CSA Z7396.1:22

Medical gas pipeline systems - Part 1: Pipelines for medical gases, medical vacuum, medical support gases, and anaesthetic gas scavenging systems

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CSA Z314:23

Canadian medical device reprocessing in all health care settings

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Training

Cleaning and Disinfection of Health Care Facilities

Training

Infection Control : Part 1 – Fundamentals
During Construction, Renovation and Maintenance of Health Care Facilities

Training

Infection Control : Part 2 – – Effective Implementation and Practical Applications
During Construction, Renovation and Maintenance of Health Care Facilities

Training

Preparing Infection Control Plan for Health Care Construction Projects Workshop

Training

Indoor Air Quality - The Role of HVAC Systems in Health Care Facilities

Training

General Medical Gas Systems

Training

Qualified Medical Gas Operator Training

Training

Medical Device Reprocessing in Dental Health Care Settings

Training

Medical Device Reprocessing in Community Health Care Settings

Training

Medical Device Reprocessing of Flexible Endoscopes in Community Health Care

Training

Medical Device Reprocessing of Critical Foot Care Devices and Non-critical Equipment in Health Care

Get involved

Stay up-to-date with the latest developments at CSA Group, connect with your peers and the CSA Group team to ask questions and share your insights, or get involved in the standards development. There are many ways to stay in touch and contribute to creating a better, safer, and more sustainable world.

Contact CSA Group’s Health Care & Well-being Team with questions or to discuss your standards development needs.

[email protected]

Join the CSA Group Health Care, Safety, and Accessibility Community and get access to additional resources, discussion forums, and more.

CSA Health Care, Safety, and Accessibility Community

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^[1]The Open Database of Healthcare Facilities, Statistics Canada, 2023
^[2]Patient harm in Canadian hospitals? It does happen, Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2022
^[3]National health expenditure trends, 2022 – Snapshot, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Healthcare Excellence Canada, 2022