Perruzza wants inspections posted for medical clinics
North York Mirror by LISA QUEEN Feb 20, 2013York West Councillor Anthony Perruzza wants to do for medical patients what the city’s DineSafe program did for restaurant patrons.DineSafe requires Toronto eateries to prominently post a notice indicating whether they have passed, conditionally passed or failed city health inspections.Perruzza is expected to ask city councillors Thursday to request the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to adopt a similar program for out-of-hospital medical clinics.It would give patients “some reassurance they won’t walk into a place where they are going to come out sicker than when they went in,” he told The Mirror.“All my motion does is ask the college to post something on the door that is something similar to DineSafe so when you reach for the door handle, you know it’s passed inspection.”The posted notice could reassure patients that medical staff are properly trained, equipment is in proper working order, the premises are sanitary and other guidelines are met, Perruzza said.On Jan. 31, the college agreed to post the results of clinic inspections on its website, along with reasons for clinics that fail and conditions imposed on clinics that pass conditionally.But not everyone owns or has access to a computer or is comfortable navigating technology, said Perruzza, adding the elderly, new immigrants and others may have trouble getting the information they need on the college’s website.College spokesperson Prithi Yelaja said the college has no comment on Perruzza’s proposal.“However, it should be noted that individual premises are free to post inspection results and many are already doing so,” she said in an email.The college has different ways for the public to access information, Yelaja said.For example, it has just reviewed the issue of making inspections public and will post results online at www.cpso.on.ca/publicregister/default.aspx?id=7376“The college website lists the most current outcomes of premises inspections, including information for a pass with conditions or a fail. In addition to the up-to-date information about each premises, there is also information online to answer any questions patients might have about the program, what it means if there are conditions, detailed information about what the conditions are, etc.,” Yelaja said.“This information changes quite frequently, particularly for premises that have conditions. We know that the college’s website is an important, reliable source of information and it gets three million hits per month.”Those who don’t have access to the Internet can call the college’s public advisory service to find out about inspection results and other questions, Yelaja said.Public advisors respond to almost 50,000 calls a year, she said. Call 416-967-2603 for general inquires.