A new public registry of personal support workers (PSWs) in Ontario has just come into effect and, although optional for now, it is expected to eventually become mandatory and expand to other categories of providers health care.

THE Supervisory Authority for Healthcare and Support Providers (HSCPOA) stems from legislation introduced in 2021 and officially came into existence on December 1, 2024.

It is an independent regulatory body that reports to the government.

Kathy Wilkie is the CEO and says the registry will meet certain standards of the profession.

“There is a need to meet certain educational requirements,” she said. “There is an obligation to follow a code of ethics and then we have a complaints system and disciplinary procedures, if necessary.”

Information about registered PSWs will all be publicly available online, and Wilkie says the intention is to create transparency and accountability, particularly following complaints about the care of vulnerable older people raised during the pandemic .

“We believe that if PSWs want to demonstrate that they meet a certain standard, they are providing safe, quality and ethical care,” Wilkie said.

“And by registering with the supervisory authority, they have the opportunity to use a visual mark, reserved only for those who are registered. It demonstrates to their employer or those to whom they provide care that they have met a standard and are committed to providing safe care.

So far, the authority can only handle complaints about registered PSWs, and Wilkie said about 600 have applied so far out of more than 100,000 in the province.

Wilkie said they are deploying social media to promote the registry, now that it is in force, and says membership is free and voluntary for now, but the government could take steps to change that at the future.

The employer takes a “wait and see” approach

One Sudbury employer said the registry certainly has some good points, but it doesn’t yet encourage employees to sign up.

Jill Rogers is the clinical director of Finlandia Village.

She particularly appreciates the authority’s emphasis on standardization of education and training and would happily let it take the necessary steps to ensure that PSWs have the necessary qualifications, especially after the proliferation of online schools due to of COVID.

“It’s very difficult right now for employers, and probably for PSW students, to make sure that they’re taking the right classes, going to the right schools, and getting the right education,”

Rogers said currently she must ensure PSWs have the necessary qualifications to practice under the law, which can require lengthy calls to schools and checking transcripts.

She also noted that having a public registry that tracks complaints about PSWs would protect the public and add another level of oversight.

However, she said Finlandia Village did not require its workers to register, saying it was a sensitive time as the industry recovered from the pandemic.

“There’s still a lot of burnout,” she said.

“There is still a significant staffing crisis. There are a lot of human resources issues…Our biggest concern is that it gives the impression that we don’t trust our staff in some way or on the other. And that’s the very last thing we want to do.

The supervisory authority is not popular with union workers.

Melissa Wood is on the executive of Unifor Local 598, which represents several long-term care facilities in Sudbury.

Wood says they’ve asked members to file a grievance if an employer forces them to apply to the registry, and doesn’t see the need for another level of oversight.

“We already have a lot of things in place in our collective bargaining agreement process that we will follow with respect to any sort of abuse and neglect within our individual organization,” she said.

Wood added that complaints can be forwarded to Ontario Health.

“I’m not sure what this authority will do or how it will even affect communities in northern Ontario,” she said.

On the other hand, Sylvia Ryan is a certified PSW in Home and Community Care with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Barrie, Ontario.

Ryan says she has always advocated for greater regulation of personal support workers.

“It’s kind of like a scenario where someone calls themselves a carpenter but in reality they’re a handyman,” she said. “It’s not that there’s anything wrong with either one, but it needs to be monitored more just to weed out the good guys from the bad guys, because it’s such an important role.”

Ryan has applied to the registry and has just been appointed to the HSCPOA PSW Advisory Committee.

This committee will advise and make recommendations to the HSCPOA Board of Directors and the CEO on issues surrounding training and standards of care for personal support workers.