Auditor General delivers report on Personal Care Homes

Auditor General Denise Hanrahan delivered a performance audit report to the Public Accounts Committee Tuesday on matters related to personal care homes in the province.

The audit was initiated at the request of the Committee in December 2023 following concerns that previous recommendations of the Auditor General related to personal care homes remained outstanding at that time.

The audit found serious issues with the program delivery and oversight of the provincial personal care home program. Outdated operational standards are being used and the department has increasingly distanced itself from oversight responsibilities.

There appeared to be a culture of acceptance within the department and the health authority towards the ongoing backlog of overdue resident care reassessments. Incidents and compliance violations were also found to be pervasive and personal care home relicensing was found to be too subjective, with homes often relicensed while carrying unresolved or persistent compliance issues.

Hanrahan said, “I am seriously concerned about the risks within the Provincial Personal Care Home Program. The Department of Health and Community Services has failed in its responsibilities to maintain modern operational standards, which may not adequately reflect the needs of the people that call these properties home. The findings of this audit indicate that the department is not delivering on the commitments made in its own standards, particularly given our Office has highlighted these issues before and recommendations from our 2015 report on Personal Care Home Regulation remain unresolved.”