Infection prevention and control infractions and Ontario personal service settings

Through annual inspections of Personal Service Settings (PSS), public health units in Ontario aim to ensure compliance of PSS operators with the recently enacted PSS Regulation (2018) and with the Guide to Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) in PSS document (2019). Failure to comply with IPAC best practices during the provision of personal services such as tattooing, ear and body piercing, nail and hair services can potentially result in a risk of infectious disease transmission to PSS workers and clients. In this webinar, presenters from Public Health Ontario will present the results of their recent study which analyzed PSS inspection data for three Ontario public health units in 2018 to understand the prevalence of common PSS infractions by service type (i.e., body modification, aesthetics, hair & barbering). Observed trends will ideally inform the development of supplemental educational resources for PSS operators and potentially guide public health unit considerations for alternative frequencies of PSS inspections. The presenters will also share their experiences in obtaining, collating, and analyzing inspection data for this study.

Katherine Paphitis, Program IPAC Specialist, Public Health Ontario (PHO)

David Ryding, Program IPAC Specialist, PHO