Acting Health Minister John Haggie has asked both his department and NL Health Services to develop an action plan to tackle the Auditor General’s report into personal care homes.
Denise Hanrahan’s report raises some serious questions regarding the oversight of such homes, and the treatment of residents.
Haggie says none of the serious incidents, including two incidents in which people died, are acceptable.
Auditor General Denise Hanrahan’s performance audit released on April 1, 2025. (VOCM News)
He notes that all serious incidents were flagged and responded to by NLHS in an appropriate manner; they just haven’t done an adequate job of documenting that.
Haggie says they have been rolling out updated standards since 2019 and work has been ongoing to improve the system.
Upon receipt of the review, Haggie says he asked for an action plan to be developed, which he wants completed “within the next month or so.”
He says that plan will include quarterly updates, which will help with oversight from a departmental level. He says there are other areas of progress within the report, such as with assessments—for which government has put money into the health authority to help with staffing levels.
