Long-term care licensing and inspection reports

Nursing home and residential care facilities are inspected to make sure they meet about 400 different requirements. Inspection reports list any areas where inspectors found violations. Violations may have been resolved since the report was published.

The Department of Health and Wellness is responsible for licensing nursing homes and residential care facilities under the Homes for Special Care Act. This ensures a consistent standard of safe, high quality, resident-centred care across the province.

Licensing inspections are unannounced and occur at least twice annually for nursing homes and once annually for residential care facilities. Facilities are required to comply with about 400 requirements outlined in the Homes for Special Care Act, Regulations, and the Long-Term Care Program Requirements.

Requirements focus on key areas such as resident care, administration, information management, human resource management, service quality, and physical space. It is not unusual for a facility to have deficiencies noted in an inspection report. Facilities must provide confirmation when these areas of deficiency have been addressed.

Facilities that are non-compliant with licensing requirements in some key areas, such as those related to resident care and safety, may receive more frequent inspections.

The information contained in the inspection reports outlines only the areas requiring action. A facility may have a positive overall licensing inspection and be commended for quality of care; however, those comments are not included in the report. Likewise, information on the time to meet compliance, the reason for the identified deficiency or its magnitude are not provided. Reasons for deficiencies vary, and often can be resolved quickly and prior to the report being posted. Specific questions should be directed to the facility.

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