Released on February 5, 2016
Saskatchewan residents can now access improved personal care home inspection information on www.Saskatchewan.ca. The new electronic (tablet) reporting system for inspectors ensures more accessible, detailed reports regarding personal care homes are available to the public – a recommendation previously made by both the Provincial Auditor and the Saskatchewan Ombudsman.“Our government is committed to transparency,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said. “This new system ensures the most up-to-date information on personal care homes is easily available online, helping individuals and their families research and select a home that will be suitable for them and best meet their needs.”
Personal care homes are privately owned and operated businesses that are licensed and monitored by the Ministry of Health. A team of specially-trained personal care home consultants regularly inspect facilities looking at a number of areas including resident care, care records, recreational activities and health and safety.
Reports using the new system reflect a wider range of information, including the homes’ licensing conditions, the most recent results of their inspection, and the number of outstanding issues. Additional information on each home is also available, such as the approximate monthly cost, number of beds, contact information and location.
The use of this new technology also improves tracking of inspection results and corrective actions, and makes reporting more efficient, replacing the need for hand-written paper reports, eliminating the need for time-consuming transcription, bringing more consistency to reporting, and supporting timely updates to the website.
Since September 2015, approximately 20 per cent of personal care homes in the province have been inspected using the electronic reporting tool. The remaining personal care homes inspected prior to September 2015 are available on www.saskatchewan.ca as PDFs. Electronic reports of personal care homes will be updated on the new site as new inspections are completed.
There are currently 245 personal care homes in operation across the province that provide lodging, meals, and assistance with, or supervision of, daily living and personal care. They are different from long-term care homes (also known as special-care homes or nursing homes), which are part of the publicly-funded health system and typically serve residents with greater care needs.
All personal care home inspection results are available at www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/ministries/health/other-reports/personal-care-home-operational-review-inspections.
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For more information, contact:
Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: tyler.mcmurchy@health.gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-537-3594