Surgeon General Message: Canadian Forces Health Services On-Site Survey
April 28, 2022 - Defence Stories
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Major-General Marc Bilodeau, Surgeon General, Canadian Armed Forces
Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) medical and dental clinics will undergo an on-site assessment by an external non-government organization, Accreditation Canada, in May and June 2022. This assessment, referred to as “accreditation”, is a process that examines and validates all aspects of care delivery in a healthcare organization against national standards of excellence. It is a continuous process that CFHS is committed to participating in to ensure we stay up to date with improvements in the way healthcare is delivered and to confirm we are providing safe, high quality medical and dental care to the members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The Accreditation process also provides CFHS with valuable recommendations for improvement.
The Accreditation Canada surveyors who will be conducting the on-site assessment are health professionals from various medical, health leadership and dental backgrounds. They will be invited into our medical and dental clinics across Canada during the following dates:
- 02 to 06 May 2022 – Ottawa, Halifax, Greenwood, Gagetown, Goose Bay (Virtual), Valcartier, Bagotville;
- 16 to 20 May 2022 – St Jean, Petawawa, Kingston, Trenton, Toronto, Borden, Winnipeg, Shilo;
- 06 to 10 June 2022 – Edmonton, Wainwright, Cold Lake, Moose Jaw, Esquimalt, Comox, and Vancouver.
If you visit one of our dental or medical clinics during these weeks, you may meet an Accreditation Canada surveyor. The surveyor will be interested in hearing the opinions CAF members have on the CFHS and may ask you questions about your experiences as a user of our health services. You may have been invited to participate in a ‘Patient Focus Group’ by your respective medical or dental clinic. Your healthcare practitioner may ask your permission for a surveyor to observe your medical or dental encounter. Surveyors are not there to be involved in your care or to know your personal health conditions, but rather to assess the quality of the care and services you receive. Your views or perspectives will inform their assessment.
Your agreement to participate in any aspect of the accreditation process is strictly voluntary and we would only want you to agree if you are comfortable to do so. Please feel free to ask CFHS clinic staff any questions you may have about the accreditation process if you are uncertain. If you do not wish to participate, it will have no impact on your care. If you are willing to participate, I ask that you be open and honest with the surveyors and I thank you in advance for contributing to making our CAF health system better.
Major-General Marc Bilodeau
Surgeon General, Canadian Armed Forces
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