Story by Larissa Kurz • Monday, MAY 15, 2023
Sharon Pratchler, Saskatchewan ombudsman and public interest disclosure commissioner, in Saskatoon, SK on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.© Provided by Leader Post
The provincial ministries of Social Services and Corrections, Policing and Public Safety were the leading sources of complaints to the Saskatchewan ombudsman in 2022, continuing a trend lasting over a decade.
Details of the annual provincial ombudsman’s report show complaints about Social Services rose for the second year in a row, with many related to service delivery issues within the ministry’s programs.
The report, tabled at the end of April, comes as the ombudsman marks a milestone year in 2023.
The provincial ombudsman’s office opened in 1973, celebrating 50 years in operation earlier this month. Since opening, the ombudsman has fielded more than 160,000 requests for assistance from the public.
“The heart of our mandate is to ensure administratively fair processes and outcomes in provincial and municipal government programs and services,” wrote Sharon Pratchler, who stepped into the role as Saskatchewan’s ombudsman in November.
“The key to delivering on that mandate is maintaining humanity within the decision-making of systems of government.”
In 2022, the ombudsman received 3,656 requests for assistance, with 2,701 of these found to be within the office’s jurisdiction to investigate, a decrease of 4 per cent from 2021.
The largest number of requests were related to issues with Social Services, with 691 complaints marking a 6 per cent increase over 2021 and a 19 per cent rise over 2020, but less than the 884 complaints recorded in 2019.
Anecdotal details in the report indicate Social Services complaints were often related to errors in policy interpretation, such as those regarding eligibility for Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) benefits for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The length of time it took to get approvals for supports was also a significant source of requests to the ombudsman.
“Even if a decision is ultimately made in favour of a citizen, if there is an inordinate delay in the decision-making, this raises both procedural and relational fairness issues for citizens, as well as our office,” the report noted.
Second in volume, with 597 requests, were complaints about Corrections, Policing and Public Safety, up slightly from 2021.
The provincial correctional centres in Regina and Saskatoon saw the largest number of complaints, with the report noting this is related to the facilities housing the largest numbers of inmates.
The majority of complaints about provincial correctional centres were filed by remanded inmates, rather than those who had been sentenced, with many complaints related to misdelivery of disciplinary sanctions inside facilities.
Municipalities continued to be the third-largest source of complaints in 2022, following a trend that began in 2016 when they came under the ombudsman’s jurisdiction, the report stated.
A total of 465 requests for assistance were related to municipal administrations or councils last year.
Health care concerns also continued to be common, although complaints related to COVID-19 were fewer than in the previous two years.
Complaints were prevalent specifically amongst older adults in relation to care facilities, Pratchler wrote. Commonly shared issues related to delayed access to services like home care or surgery, timeliness and quality of care, and lack of respect or dignity.
“Many of these individuals expressed their opinion that inadequate staffing levels were a contributing factor to their situations,” Pratchler noted.
The Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner annual report, also compiled by Pratchler, was tabled in tandem with the ombudsman’s report.
Nineteen inquiries under the Public Interest Disclosure Act were submitted in 2022, but for “the majority of the cases, it was determined that the inquiry did not fall within the mandate of our legislation,” the report noted. Five open files were carried over into 2023 from the end of the year.
Pratchler said work in 2022 has continued to focus on the office’s long-standing mandate of ensuring fair and timely resolutions, either by formal or informal investigation.
Her report notes that the ombudsman has continued to resolve more than 90 per cent of complaints within three months and 95 per cent within six months, since goals were set in 2007.
She lauded the office’s past and present staff for continued dedication to addressing public concerns with government entities over the past several decades.
“Every day, the team makes a difference in the lives of Saskatchewan citizens by listening to complaints, providing information, and by using problem solving and conflict resolution skills to achieve fair and timely resolutions,” writes Pratchler.
Related
Sask. inmate disciplinary system steadily improving, says ombudsman
Ombudsman flooded with COVID-related complaints last year
Sask. ombudsman finds fault with jails, care homes, municipalities
No comments:
Post a Comment