REGINA — The provincial government shared details of a new inspection program for long term care homes in Saskatchewan.
A pilot inspection of 20 homes, including both rural and urban homes of varying size and capacity, is set to begin immediately and conclude by March.
"We are committed to the safety and well-being of residents and staff in our long-term care homes," said Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley.
The inspections will be conducted by the Ministry of Health, which oversees the Saskatchewan Health Authority who currently operates all long-term care beds in the province.
Care homes will be checked to ensure they are complying with regulation standards laid out by the health authority to “provide safe and effective care.” Inspections will focus on the regulations and policies regarding resident care, said the province.
"Along with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, we have enhanced our oversight of long-term care homes over the years. This inspections program is one more step in our efforts to help ensure that our seniors live safely and comfortably in their communities," said Hindley.
Following the pilot, all 151 long-term care homes in Saskatchewan will undergo routine inspection every three years.
The provincial government did not provide further details regarding how the results of these inspections will be used, or whether they will be provided to the public.
NDP want more oversight
Opposition leader Ryan Meili said that while regular long-term care inspections are needed, the provincial government has failed to introduce an adequate program.
Regular operational inspections were one of the recommendations made by the provincial ombudsman in 2016, echoed by another ombudsman investigation into the COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths in Extendicare Parkside in Regina in 2021.
During that investigation, ombudsman Mary McFadyen recommended that inspections occur in care homes take place every year, to ensure proper care standards are being met.
Meili echoed that statement, saying he also wants to see the inspections done annually rather than every three years, and by a third-party inspector rather than conducted internally by the ministry and the SHA.
“We need to do annual inspections of all facilities, independent of the SHA, to get the true story,” said Meili.
“We’ve already seen that the CEO tours run by the SHA, so an internal inspections, while they’ve showed many errors, they were not completely objective. We need that objective model for an arms-length review,” said Meili.
He also expressed concerns about accountability and transparency due to the internal nature of the current program, noting that it was the Sask Party who rescinded previous standards of care in long-term homes.
Meili said that in order for the inspections to truly improve standards of care, the results gathered must be “clear and transparently shared by the public.”
