Safety and Health Inspections Planned for Spas

Canada’s leading spa association will introduce a national inspection program next year to ensure its members comply with quality assurance and safety standards.

“It will help consumers and raise standards in the industry across the board,” Leading Spas of Canada representative Kathryn Stolle said in an interview. “Consumers are saying: ‘Give us some assurances here’ and that’s what this will do.”

The association is working with inspection agency Canada Select to develop a program that will begin with 30 spas next year before involving all 175 member spas by 2010.

The association already has standards and practices that members are expected to meet but compliance is only based upon members saying in writing they comply. Under the new program, spas will be audited by appointment every two years.

The standards and practices cover six primary areas – hygiene and safety, operation and function, customer service, education and training, legal compliance and ethical practice.

Examples include provisions that spas ensure their instruments and tools are properly sterilized, that therapists’ certifications comply with provincial regulations, that spa staff provide respectful customer service and that businesses have up-to-date insurance.

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