Accredited practice facilities will have two types of inspection processes that will occur, as outlined below. Most of these will take place in person; virtual inspections on camera or via electronic submissions of documents and records may also occur as an inspection if an appropriate approach for the type of inspection. That is at the discretion of the Practice Facility Accreditation Committee and Registrar.
A. Scheduled Inspections
Bylaw 3.4(4) of Part 3 of the Bylaws, Accreditation and Naming, outlines that accredited practice facilities “undergo an inspection on a schedule established by the registrar”. Part 3 is otherwise silent on the timing and method of registrar scheduled inspections of accredited facilities.
When the CVBC was established, the previous schedule of inspecting accredited practice facilities every 5 years continued as set by the previous regulatory body. This routine inspection of an accredited practice facility is done to confirm that practice facilities are maintaining the accreditation standards outlined in Schedule D of the CVBC Bylaws.
The Policy on Scheduled Practice Facility Inspections is now in effect. As explained in the policy, four inspection schedules (or streams) now exist. An inspection assessment form will score the inspection based on factors listed in Appendix B of the policy. That score will aid in placement of the practice into the appropriate stream.
The fee for this inspection, as outlined in Schedule C, will be assigned to the Designated Registrant of the practice. It is no longer part of the Annual Fee to Maintain Accreditation.
Poor compliance will result in referral to the Practice Facility Accreditation Committee (PFAC) and potentially more frequent inspections.
B. Committee directed inspections
Bylaw 3.18(1) allows the committee to direct an inspection. The scope of this inspection will be at the discretion of the PFAC. This usually occurs as the result of a notification by the Designated Registrant pursuant to Section 3.6(9), with a significant change to the scope, structure or location of an accredited practice or facility. However, direction of an inspection can also be directed as a follow up of an open inspection, or when a practice related matter has been referred to PFAC by another committee or the College staff.
The Policy on Committee Directed Practice Facility Inspections and Inspection Outcome provides guidance on which notifications may trigger an inspection and what the inspection process will entail.
The fee for this inspection, as outlined in Schedule C, will be assigned to the Designated Registrant of the practice.
