Veterans Affairs Canada Has Completed Audit of Sunnybrook Veterans Centre

OTTAWA, March 28, 2013 /CNW/ - The Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie, today released the results of an audit of the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre. The audit assessed the quality of care provided to Veterans and the controls in place to monitor care and address concerns raised by residents or families.

"In response to concerns raised by Veterans and their families, I directed my officials to launch a comprehensive audit to investigate the quality of care provided at this facility," said Minister Blaney. "The audit has identified areas for improvement and we expect that Sunnybrook will work in the best interest of Veterans and their families to implement the audit's recommendations in a timely manner."

The audit included 140 interviews with residents and family members, a review of more than 100 files and significant data analysis. To provide independent advice on the audit's recommendations, Veterans Affairs Canada created an external advisory committee. This committee was chaired by the Veterans Ombudsman and included representatives from organizations involved in Veterans' issues and individuals with health expertise.

"Irrespective of jurisdictional issues in regards to the provision of health care, my expectation is that Sunnybrook will act on the recommendations contained in the report and that Veterans Affairs Canada will do a follow-up survey of Veterans and family members to ensure that their concerns have been addressed," said Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent. "Ultimately, the audit report should be seen as the starting point for change, not an end in and of itself."

Minister Blaney also stated "we are pleased that all Veterans who are residents at Sunnybrook and their family members who wished to contribute to the audit had the opportunity to do so. We greatly appreciate their input and will continue to ensure that Veterans and their families are treated with respect and receive high quality care at all times."

The audit is available on the Veterans Affairs Canada Web site at veterans.gc.ca.

SOURCE: Veterans Affairs Canada