​​​​All Ontario hospitals have a patient relations process in place. A patient relations process offers patients, their families and the public with a mechanism to confidentially voice compliments and concerns about their experience or the care they received and provide feedback that can help hospitals track the quality of patient experiences and identify opportunities for quality improvement.

Excellent Care for All Act

On September 1, 2015 new regulations were filed under the Excellent Care for All Act (ECFAA) to strengthen patient relations processes by specifying minimum standards respecting retention of certain information on complaints, keeping the patients or complainants informed, and ensuring the hospital has a patient relations delegate.

Resources

Please note:  Important OHA member resources are available on this page.  To access these resources, members are required to sign in through the Log in at the top of the page.

Office of the Patient Ombudsman

There may be circumstances where the patients and families are not satisfied with the hospital’s processes or investigation. Commencing July 2016, Ontario’s Patient Ombudsman Office was opened. The Patient Ombudsman Office is an independent body of last resort, available after the patient relations processes at the hospital have been exhausted. The new office will help ensure fairness and serve as an avenue for patients and families to request an investigation that is independent of the hospital in which the incident occurred.

Patient Ombudsman Website

Additional Resources to Support Hospitals