Quality assurance
Overview
The Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act (ICHSCA) supports a more integrated health system with an enhanced Quality Assurance program to strengthen quality and patient safety at community surgical and diagnostic centres.
Each community surgical and diagnostic centre must abide by law to the quality and safety standards to ensure that the centre is safe for patient care.
Centres are required to participate in a mandatory quality assurance program, including the on-site inspection of premises, which has many elements.
Quality assurance advisor
Licensees are required to appoint and maintain a quality assurance advisor as well as an advisory committee.
The quality assurance advisor:
- is appointed by the licensee who must then notify the ministry of the appointment including the name, contact and credentials of the quality advisor
- is an affiliated physician or midwife (for example, birthing centres) of the centre who provides service and has additional skills and training in quality assurance to lead and mentor the centre’s staff
- provides advice regarding the quality and safety standards of services provided in the centre as set and inspected by Accreditation Canada
- chairs the advisory committee, which is made up health professionals that reflect the services offered by the centre
Please see the Quality Assurance Advisor Acknowledgement Form for additional information.
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
Each centre is responsible for maintaining, improving and adhering to the facility quality assurance standards with every patient service.
The implementation of a continuous quality improvement platform will provide access to quality standards and facilitate day-to-day guidance for awareness, improvement and implementation.
This initiative creates a culture focused on quality and better prepares a Centre for inspection at any time.
Centre Inspection
Licensees are required to participate in an inspection of their centre at least once every 4 years. Each inspection is carried out at the request of the Director of Integrated Community Health Services Centres (Director).
Inspections may be conducted more frequently prompted by:
- the outcome of previous inspections
- a change in ownership
- an addition of new services
- external complaints
Complaints
As part of the current Quality Assurance Program, there is a well documented complaints process for patients who have received services at a community surgical and diagnostic centre.
Licensees are required to post the following information both on the centre’s website, if any, and at a visible place within the centre:
- the centre’s process for receiving and responding to patient complaints
- contact information for the Ontario Patient Ombudsman
- the email and phone number of the Protecting Access to Public Healthcare Program (protectpublichealthcare@ontario.ca and
1-888-662-6613 )
For a full listing of the centre’s enhanced requirements for patient complaints, please review the ICHSCA and its regulations.
The Ontario Patient Ombudsman is an independent, arm’s length organization authorized to receive, respond to, and help resolve complaints from patients about their experience in a community surgical and diagnostic centre.
The Patient Ombudsman can act on complaints by:
- engaging directly with the centre and/or complainant as part of an early resolution process, which may include a request for records or policies
- referring concerns as appropriate to public health units, to regulatory colleges for professional practice concerns or other oversight agencies with jurisdiction
- investigating unresolved concerns or concerns with a broader public interest resulting in formal recommendations being made to the centre
The ministry will continue to receive and address complaints that do not involve a specific patient service but may be initiated against a centre by a health system partner, healthcare professionals or the general public.