Patient Ombudsman

Summary

The Patient Ombudsman (French: Ombudsman des patients) is an ombudsman office which acts as a neutral body of last resort for complaints about the healthcare system in Ontario, Canada. The Patient Ombudsman has jurisdiction over public hospitals and long-term care homes, as well as home and community care coordinated by the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).

Patient Ombudsman
Ombudsman des patients
Office overview
Formed15 December 2015; 8 years ago (2015-12-15)[1]
TypeOmbudsman
JurisdictionPublic hospitals, long-term care homes, and home and community care coordinated by the Local Health Integration Networks
Headquarters393 University Ave., Suite 1801, Toronto, Ontario
Motto"Every experience matters"[2]
Office executives
  • Craig Thompson, Patient Ombudsman
  • Michelle Rossi, Executive Director
Parent OfficeMinistry of Health
Key document
Websitewww.patientombudsman.ca

The position was created in 2015 through amendments to the Excellent Care for All Act.[3] Unlike the Ontario Ombudsman, the Patient Ombudsman is not an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; the Patient Ombudsman's office is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health's advisory agency Health Quality Ontario.[4]

In the office's first year, it received 2,000 complaints. The bulk of complaints were about Ontario's hospitals.[5][6][7] The office received 2,300 complaints in its second year of operations.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Ombudsmen Cathy Fooks released a series of recommendations to deal with the pandemic in long-term care homes, such as better whistleblower protections, communications and visitation systems.[8]

List of Patient Ombudspersons edit

  • Christine Elliott (1 July 2016 – 1 February 2018)[1][7][9]
  • Craig Thompson (1 February 2018 – 12 July 2020), executive director managing day-to-day operations[10]
  • Cathy Fooks (13 July 2020 - December 2020), died in an accident shortly after appointment[11][12][8]
  • Craig Thompson (29 March 2021 – present)[13]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Ontario Selects Christine Elliott as First-Ever Patient Ombudsman". Province of Ontario. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  2. ^ Elliott, Christine. "Patient Ombudsman's Message - Patient Ombudsman". Toronto, ON: Office of the Patient Ombudsman. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  3. ^ Taylor, Paul (21 July 2016). "How can Ontario's new ombudsman address patient concerns?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  4. ^ Fitzpatrick, Meagan (4 December 2018). "Is Ontario's patient ombudsman next on the Ford government chopping block?". CBC News. Retrieved 2 June 2020. The patient ombudsman is not an independent officer of the legislature, however. It falls under Health Quality Ontario — a government agency that monitors quality in health care and provides advice to government and health care providers.
  5. ^ Jeffords, Shawn (9 November 2017). "Ontario's Patient Ombudsman eyes improvements to health care". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  6. ^ Reevely, David (9 November 2017). "Reevely: Transitions between health providers are painful points for Ontario patients, ombudsman reports". Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b Turl, Jeff (28 March 2017). "Patient Ombudsman visits North Bay hospital". North Bay, ON: BayToday. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  8. ^ a b Tsekouras, Phil (31 December 2020). "Ontario announces death of Patient Ombudsman Cathy Fooks". CTV News. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  9. ^ Benzie, Robert; Ferguson, Rob (1 February 2018). "Former MPP Christine Elliott joins Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership race, Caroline Mulroney to follow". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  10. ^ Baxter, Mary (28 April 2020). "What it's like at the patient ombudsman's office during COVID-19". TVO.org. Toronto, ON: TV Ontario. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Ontario government names Cathy Fooks as new patient ombudsman - CityNews Toronto". toronto.citynews.ca. Citytv. 11 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  12. ^ Jensen, David (11 June 2020). "Ontario Appoints New Patient Ombudsman - southwesthealthline.ca". www.southwesthealthline.ca. Southwest Healthline. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Order in Council 362/2021". www.ontario.ca. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

External links edit

  • Official website