Patient Ombudsman is an independent organization established by the provincial government in 2014 to help resolve complaints from patients, residents and caregivers about their experiences in Ontario’s public hospitals, long-term care homes, home care, and community surgical and diagnostic centres. The office officially opened in July 2016 and since that time has continued to work hard to be a champion for fairness in health care.
The role of Patient Ombudsman is set out in the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010 (ECFAA). In addition to helping resolve complaints, Patient Ombudsman can also undertake investigations, either from complex complaints or as an own motion investigation that looks into systemic or larger issues that are of high public interest.
To fulfil its mandate under the ECFAA, Patient Ombudsman upholds the principles of an ombudsman office as set out in the Statement of Ethical Principles of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman: independence, impartiality, fairness, confidentiality, and credibility (See Schedule I) and the Venice Principles, an internationally accepted set of standards that set out the fundamental principles essential to the establishment of independent and impartial ombudsman institution.