Sask. government launches new long-term care home inspections program

The Saskatchewan government announced that its new long-term care homes inspections program is set to begin Tuesday.

Ministry of Health inspectors will begin by inspecting approximately 20 homes "selected to reflect an urban-rural balance and a range of small, medium and larger homes," according to a press release.

It is not know exactly which communities the inspections will take place in.

Saskatchewan has 151 long-term care homes and 10 other facilities with long-term care beds, according to the province.

'Committed to well-being'

"We are committed to the safety and well-being of residents and staff in our long-term care homes," Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors and Rural and Remote Health Minister Everett Hindley said in the release.

"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."

The 20 inspections will be completed by March 2022. Upon completion, all long-term care homes will be regularly inspected on a three-year cycle, the province said.

The Official Opposition has long called for such a program, amid reports of seniors being treated poorly and even dying at Saskatchewan long-term care facilities.

Last week during the legislative assembly, the NDP said the system has failed many seniors, especially during the pandemic.

Following a falling incident that resulted in the April 2018 death of Frances Sander, an ombudsman investigation was conducted.

Then 82, Sander fell in her room at her residence at the Rose Villa care facility in Rosetown, about 340 km northwest of Regina. An ombudsman's report on the case called for further measures to protect seniors in long-term care, including a recommendation that the Saskatchewan Health Authority develop and implement a "single, comprehensive, provincewide, adverse health event reporting and investigation process."

In Tuesday's press release, the province said that Saskatchewan's long-term care homes have always been required to comply with the regulations and the Program Guidelines for Special Care Homes, "which outline the standards that facilities must meet in order to provide safe and effective care."

The new inspections program will build on a number of existing initiatives that monitor long-term care homes' performance and will "assess their compliance with these guidelines and any related regulations and policies focusing mainly on the resident care and resident-centred work within the home," the province said.

NDP Response

The NDP say that the province's new inspections program is not enough.

"What we see here is woefully inadequate and not at all in line with the recommendations made by the ombudsman," Opposition critic for seniors Matt Love said in a statement to the CBC.

Love says the ombudsman was clear that long-term care home inspections should take place at least annually, and that the inspection process needs to be independent and made publicly available.

"This pandemic has painfully shown us the gaps that exist in our long-term care and we owe it to the people of this province to make sure that we get this right. Inspections every three years won't achieve the kind of transparency Saskatchewan people expect out of this process."