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).
Ombudsman des patients | |
Office overview | |
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Formed | 15 December 2015[1] |
Type | Ombudsman |
Jurisdiction | Public hospitals, long-term care homes, and home and community care coordinated by the Local Health Integration Networks |
Headquarters | 393 University Ave., Suite 1801, Toronto, Ontario |
Motto | "Every experience matters"[2] |
Office executives |
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Parent Office | Ministry of Health |
Key document | |
Website | www |
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]
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.