How Ontario inspects long-term care homes

Who inspects, and under what rules

Inspections are carried out by the Inspections Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care. The rules a home must follow are set out in the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021 and its regulation, O. Reg. 246/22. They cover areas such as resident care and safety, infection prevention and control, medication, nutrition, and staffing. Once an inspection is finalized, the report is made public, which is why the records can be collected and shown here.

What prompts an inspection

The Ministry uses a risk-based framework that sets how often each home is inspected, and inspects every home at least once a year. A specific inspection is most often prompted by one of these:

• A complaint from a resident, family member, or staff member, which can be made anonymously.
• A critical incident the home is required to report, such as a serious fall, a medication error, or an allegation of abuse or neglect.
• A follow-up to check that a home corrected something an earlier compliance order required.
• A proactive inspection, which the Ministry schedules rather than running in response to a specific complaint or incident.

What an inspection produces

Each inspection results in a public report. Where the inspector finds the home is not meeting a rule, the report records it as a finding of non-compliance. The report names the specific rule cited, describes what was found, and states the action the inspector took. If the home fixes the problem before the inspection ends, it is recorded as remedied with no further action; otherwise the action ranges from a written notification to a compliance order to a fine.

A single inspection records a moment in time. It does not, on its own, describe the quality of care a resident will receive today. We show the record so you can read it in context. We do not score or rank homes.