Assiniboia welcomes Weyburn Red Wings with open arms during ammonia shutdown
5h ago
Billets were found for all Red Wings players in just four hours.
Thanks to a report from a whistleblower, a Saskatchewan Health Authority employee was fired after taking more than $15,000 from the trust accounts of several long-term care residents in Meadow Lake.
The loss of $15,636 was included in the report on losses of public money for the third quarter of the 2022-23 fiscal year. That quarter ran from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
According to the report issued Monday, the losses in Meadow Lake occurred between 2016 and 2018.
In a statement, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said a staff member stepped forward in October of 2018 to say there was “irregular activity” in the trust accounts of several residents at the Northland Pioneers Lodge in Meadow Lake.
“Leadership at the facility began an internal investigation and discovered there were irregular payments for cash and purchased items from the resident’s trust account,” the statement said.
“As a result of the investigation, one employee was terminated. The Saskatchewan Health Authority referred the matter to the RCMP and charges were laid (in March of 2022). The former employee entered a guilty plea and was ordered by the court to pay $13,374 in restitution.
“The restitution payment was received on October 17, 2022. The Saskatchewan Health Authority reimbursed the residents for the remaining $2,262 that was not covered by restitution … For privacy reasons, the SHA cannot reveal the name, role, department or regulatory body of the employee in question.”
The health authority said new processes were put in place at the home to monitor residents’ purchases. As well, staff in the former Prairie North region who handle residents’ accounts and cash underwent training sessions, and reviews are now done on an ongoing basis.
Meanwhile, two losses were reported by ministries and Treasury Board Crown corporations in the third quarter. Both were reported by the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation.
In June of last year, a La Ronge Regional Housing Authority employee was fired after $1,800 in cash deposits were misappropriated. Police are still investigating that case.
As well, a manager contracted by the Edam Housing Authority was fired after a government-issued purchase card was used for non-government purchases to the tune of $3,240.53 between August of 2021 and April of last year.
The manager repaid the full amount. The report said police are looking into that incident as well.