There is now an easy way to tell whether your health care provider’s facilities have been inspected, are legally registered and are up to standard.
All doctors’ offices, hospitals and other health care facilities in the Cayman Islands that have been inspected by the Department of Health Regulatory Services will now boast a health care facility certificate.
This document, which should be prominently displayed, demonstrates that the health care facility in question has passed its inspection based on the National Standards, which were gazetted in April 2010.
The inspection certificate also serves as proof that all health care practitioners working in the facility are professionally registered, as is called for in the National Standards. In addition to the inspection certificate, all professional staff members’ registration certificates must also be on display.
Inspections of health care facilities are done in accordance with The Health Practice Law (2005 Revision), Section 16, which calls for the inspection of all health care facilities. This law defines a health care facility as: “premises at which health services are provided by a registered practitioner.”
Section 16 further requires that these facilities are “… being kept in accordance with the standards set by the Commission relating to physical facilities, equipment, personnel and procedures which standards shall accord with relevant guidelines or codes in the United Kingdom, Canada or the United States of America.” These physical inspections began in May 2010 and in the fiscal year of 2010, 97 facilities have been inspected.
Facilities that do not fit the legal definition of a health care facility, such as tattoo parlours and colon cleansing businesses, are not subject to the inspection requirement and cannot be registered through the Department of Health Regulatory Services.
As such they do not have any oversight by this Department and may not have any registered health care practitioners. However, the Department of Environmental Health, under the Public Health Law, is charged with the inspection of facilities and activities for adequate hygienic, sanitary and safety procedures. There are no certificates issued by the Department of Environmental Health for this inspection.
For more information on the registration of health care facilities, contact the Department of Health Regulatory Service.
Related Videos
