Terms

When we say “we”, “us”, or “our”, we mean Patient Ombudsman and the Ontario Health Quality Council supporting Patient Ombudsman.

"Patient Ombudsman" refers to the Patient Ombudsman appointed under the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010, and all employees, agents, contractors, and authorized representatives working in or for the office of the Patient Ombudsman.

We require you to follow several simple rules while accessing or using this Site. You must not:

1. use this Site in violation of any law, rule, or regulation

2. interfere with or disrupt this Site or any of our computer systems, servers, networks, databases, software, hardware or equipment used by or for this Site

3. interfere with the use or enjoyment of this Site by others

4. introduce any code without our authorization, particularly code which is disruptive or harmful

5. attempt to gain unauthorized access to our computer systems, servers, networks, databases, software, hardware or equipment, or to personal information of others

6. impersonate any other person or entity or make any misrepresentation or defamatory or libelous statements

7. upload, post, transmit, publish, or distribute any material or information to the Site which contains a computer virus or other codes or files intended to disrupt/interfere with this Site

8. delete or revise any material posted by any other person or entity without authorization

9. forge, alter, or modify in any way, any of the agreements, policies, or other information posted or accessible within this Site.

Any violation of the above conditions will result in termination of your access to and use of the Site.

Your privacy is important to us! Patient Ombudsman is committed to respecting the personal privacy of individuals using our Site.

If you provide us with any personal or personal health information through this Site, we will handle it in accordance with our privacy policy.  You may also want to refer to our notice of collection.

To monitor Site usage and improve the quality of our Site, we gather information about the use of our Site. We use industry-standard website statistics software to track metrics, such as the number of users who visit our Site, the number of views of a particular page, and the devices used (iPhone, Blackberry, etc.) to access our Site. We do not link any of this information to individuals or to information that you voluntarily provide when you visit the Site.    We also use cookies to make it more convenient for users to move around our website and to track anonymous user experience.  There is a survey at the end of each page on the Site that asks “Was this page helpful?”  The answer to this question is anonymous and we gather the information for quality improvement purposes.  

Unless we tell you otherwise, the content on this website is protected by Crown copyright. Crown copyright is held by the Queen's Printer for Ontario. Your ability to use and reproduce content owned by the Queen’s Printer for Ontario is set out on the Copyright Information page.

The official symbols of Patient Ombudsman may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without our prior authorization which you must receive in writing from us.

Unless we tell you otherwise, other websites and social media platforms that link to this Site are not associated with us or endorsed by us.

By linking to any page on this Site, you acknowledge that:

• Patient Ombudsman prohibits caching, use or posting of unauthorized hypertext links to this Site and the framing of any content available through this website.

• You are prohibited from embedding any content from this Site into your website and any link to this Site must open a new browser window.

If you want to post a link to this Site, you must abide by the following rules:

1. You must not misrepresent your relationship with Patient Ombudsman or present false or misleading impressions about Patient Ombudsman.

2. You may not imply or expressly state that Patient Ombudsman approves or endorses your website and any of its content, or your goods or services, except as Patient Ombudsman may have agreed separately with you in writing.

3. You agree not to alter any materials found on this Site.

4. Links to this website may be by text only and may only read "Patient Ombudsman”. Images of the Patient Ombudsman logo or photos on our Site for linking purposes may only be made with our express permission. Any requests for such permission or for permission to link to this Site in a manner other than as permitted in these Terms of Use should be addressed to:

Patient Ombudsman
Manager, Communications & Engagement
Box 130, 77 Wellesley Street West
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1N3
Tel: (416) 597 - 5375

If you publish a link to the Patient Ombudsman Site in accordance with these Terms of Use, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Patient Ombudsman shall have no responsibility or liability for any content appearing on your website.

• You will indemnify, defend, and hold Patient Ombudsman harmless against all claims arising out of or based upon your website.

• No link(s) may appear on any page on your website or within any context containing content or materials that may be interpreted as libelous, obscene or otherwise unlawful, or which infringes, otherwise violates, or advocates the infringement or other violation of, any third party rights.

• Patient Ombudsman reserves the right at any time and in its sole discretion to request that you remove all links or any particular link to this Site or any other Patient Ombudsman website/page from your website, and you will remove the link(s) upon request.

You may see links on this Site to other websites and some widely-used social media platforms. We have included them because they may be of interest to you. Just to be clear, providing a link to them does not mean that we endorse or recommend them to you.

Also, since these other websites and social media platforms are controlled and maintained by other people, we cannot be sure that the link will still work when you click on it or that the service or content is useful, appropriate, virus-free or reliable. Therefore, you need to decide for yourself whether you want to follow any link or to agree to receive or rely on any service or content that is made available to you. 

Important Privacy Information: We do not collect or control any information that you provide to or through a social media platform or other website. Social media platforms or other websites are not bound by our Privacy Policy. You should review the privacy policies of any linked website or social media platform before providing any personal or other information. Others may not comply with the same privacy laws, policies and practices that we do! Please be careful.

Patient Ombudsman provides the Site on an “as is,” “as available” basis. Patient Ombudsman does not make, and expressly disclaims, any warranties, representations, covenants, conditions, or endorsements, express or implied, with respect to this Site, including but not limited to, warranties and/or representations as to quality, fitness for a particular purpose, usefulness, completeness, accuracy and reliability, non-infringement, safety, quality, freedom from defects or that defects will be corrected, and uninterrupted, virus-free or error-free use of this Site.

Use of this website and its contents is at your own risk. You must not rely on any content published on or linked to this website without first making your own inquiries to verify it is accurate, current and complete.   If you submit a complaint using the webform, you cannot assume that Patient Ombudsman has received your complaint unless Patient Ombudsman communicates with you using another medium such as telephone.

By using this Site, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Patient Ombudsman, including the Patient Ombudsman and staff of Patient Ombudsman, the Ontario Health Quality Council (OHQC), and the officers, directors, employees and agents of OHQC, from any and all liability, losses, claims, damages, costs and expenses (including legal and other professional fees and expenses) arising from (a) your use of the Site and its Content, including your submission of a complaint using the web form; (b) your use of content linked through other websites; (c) any breach by you of the Terms of Use; (d) your failure to comply with applicable laws, including but not limited to statutes, regulations, by-laws, rules, codes or treaties; or (e) any of your wrongdoings, intentional or otherwise.

Patient Ombudsman, including the Patient Ombudsman and staff of Patient Ombudsman, the Ontario Health Quality Council (OHQC), and the officers, directors, employees and agents of OHQC, will not be liable to you or anyone else for any loss, injury, or damages whatsoever, including any indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, arising out of or in connection with your use of, or inability to use, the Site, including but not limited to, any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay in operation, transmission, computer virus or line failure, even if Patient Ombudsman or an authorized Patient Ombudsman representative has been advised of the possibility of such loss or damages. 

Patient Ombudsman may immediately, with or without notice, suspend or terminate your use of this Site and the related services or any portion thereof at any time if, in Patient Ombudsman’s sole discretion, you breach any of these Terms of Use. Upon suspension or termination and thereafter you may no longer access and/or use the Patient Ombudsman Site without our prior written consent.

Patient Ombudsman may, in its sole discretion, change, suspend or terminate, temporarily or permanently, the Site or any part of it or any of its features at any time, for any reason, without any notice or liability to you or to any other person.

If your permission to use the Site is terminated by you or by Patient Ombudsman for any reason, these Terms of Use will continue to apply and be binding upon you in respect of your prior use of this Site and your use of services through the Site and anything connected with, relating to or arising from those matters.

These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and Canada (where applicable in the province) and deemed to be entered into by you in the Province of Ontario regardless of your domicile, residence, or physical location. Any claims, disputes, or legal proceedings arising out of or in connection to your use of the site shall be brought solely in the courts of the Province of Ontario.