Aquatic facility owners/operators in Toronto must now publicly disclose their most recent inspection results as part of the city’s new SwimSafe program.
Under the program, Toronto Public Health (TPH) hopes to achieve similar success with recreational water that it has seen since introducing the DineSafe program, which TPH says increased compliance with food premises regulations from 50 to more than 90 per cent since 2001.
In October 2014, web disclosure of pool and spa inspection outcomes was implemented, followed by the posting of the inspection notice in November 2015.
Similar to DineSafe, the SwimSafe program obligates public pool and spa facility owners/operators to post the appropriate colour-coded inspection notice issued by the public health inspector (PHI). The green ‘Pass’ sign is issued when the facility is in compliance with the regulations and may include infractions that have no health and safety consequences, while a yellow ‘Conditional Pass’ sign must be posted when the facility is not in compliance with the regulations and may result in closure if corrective action is not taken within 24 to 48 hours. Finally, a red ‘Closed’ inspection notice is served to owners/operators upon issuance of a Section 13 health hazard order under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act. Posting a red inspection notice indicates an imminent health hazard and, therefore, immediately precludes the use of the facility.
According to Mahesh Patel, MSc, CPHI(C), manager healthy environments, TPH, the posting of inspection notices and web disclosure are intended to inform patrons about the safety of the recreational water facilities they frequent. By providing information on the level of non-compliance with Ontario’s minimum safety standards, the SwimSafe disclosure program enables the user to assess the health and safety risk the facility poses to them.
“Timely and accurate web disclosure is essential,” says Patel. “In general, disclosure information is posted on the SwimSafe web page within 12 hours of the inspection being completed. Prior to posting, the information is reviewed and authorized by TPH’s quality assurance staff.
“To enable patrons/public in making an informed choice, inspection notices must be conspicuously posted before all entrances leading to the pool/spa enclosure. Failure to post or hide the inspection notice(s) issued by a PHI on behalf of the Medical Officer of Health is contrary to Municipal Code Chapter 520, Inspection notices, posting of, and may result in enforcement action by TPH.”
To assist aquatic facility owners/operators achieve high safety standards and compliance with regulations, TPH has developed educational pamphlets titled “How to Pass an Inspection” and offers pool and spa operator manuals on its website.
