The Patient Ombudsman () is an

ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

office which acts as a neutral body of last resort for complaints about the healthcare system in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, 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 Network Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were the Health regions of Canada, health authorities responsible for regional administration of public healthcare services in the Canadian province of Ontario. Legacy LHIN functions were transferred to th ...

s (LHINs). The position was created in 2015 through amendments to the '' Excellent Care for All Act''. In the office's first year, it received 2,000 complaints. The bulk of complaints were about Ontario's hospitals. The office received 2,300 complaints in its second year of operations. In 2023 the mandate of the Patient Ombudsman was expanded to include Community Surgical and Diagnostic Centres.

Parent agency

Unlike the Ontario Ombudsman, the Patient Ombudsman is not an independent officer of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

; The Patient Ombudsman's office was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health's advisory agency Health Quality Ontario. When Health Quality Ontario was transferred to the new agency Ontario Health, the patient ombudsman went with it.

COVID-19

Amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario was a viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada w ...

, 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. The recommendations were: #Backstops and contingency plans for all health care providers #A change in approach to visitation #Dedicated resources for communication #Enhanced

whistleblower Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...

protection

List of Patient Ombudspersons

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

References

External links

* {{ONGovDept 2015 establishments in Ontario Government agencies established in 2015 Politics of Ontario Patient Ombudsman Canada Patient Ombudsman