Making a complaint
The Patient Bill of Rights says you have the right to be told, in writing, how to make a complaint. Ask the person in charge of your care or your care provider for a copy of their complaint process. Follow it carefully. Be sure not to miss time limits.
There are 3 complaint processes. You must use the one that is right for your type of complaint. If you have more than one type of complaint, you must make a separate complaint for each one.
1. Abuse, neglect, or poor care
You can complain that an HSP, OHT, or their staff member, employee, or contractor:
- abused you,
- neglected you, which means they agreed to provide care to you but did not look after your basic needs, or
- gave you care in a way that was improper or incompetent.
But to make this type of complaint you must show that because of what the person did or did not do:
- you were harmed, or
- you were at risk of being harmed.
Complaint process
Put your complaint in writing and give it to the person in charge of your care. Explain what happened and how it harmed you or put you at risk of being harmed. Your HSP or OHT must confirm that they got your complaint and start looking into it right away.
Within 10 days, they must tell you what they have done about your complaint. And they must finish their investigation and write a report within a “reasonable time”. The law does not say what amount of time is reasonable.
If they agree with your complaint, their report has to say:
- what they have done about it, and
- how they will stop something similar from happening again.
You cannot appeal if you do not agree with how the HSP or OHT deals with your complaint.
2. Decisions about your care
You can complain about 4 types of decisions about your care services:
- not being eligible for a service
- not having a service that you want in your care plan
- the amount of a service that is in your care plan, for example, the number of hours
- ending a service
Complaint process
Ask the person in charge of your care to give you the reasons for their decision in writing.
Put your complaint in writing. Explain why you think the decision was wrong, how it affected you, and what you think you need.
Your HSP or OHT is supposed to reply to your complaint in writing within 60 days. They must give you a copy of their reply. They can tell you that they are:
- not changing the decision,
- cancelling the decision, or
- cancelling the decision and making a new one.
Making an appeal to the Appeal Board
You can appeal to the Health Services Appeal and Review Board (Appeal Board) if any of the following are true:
- the HSP or OHT says that they are not changing their decision,
- they cancel their decision and make a new decision that you do not like, or
- they do not reply to you within 60 days.
Contact a lawyer if you need help making an appeal. See How to get help and more information.
You or your lawyer must write to the Appeal Board and ask for a hearing. The Appeal Board will send you forms to fill out. Fill them out and send them back as soon as you can. Include a copy of the decision you are appealing and say why you think it is wrong.
The Appeal Board should start your hearing within 30 days of getting your notice asking for a hearing, unless you agree to a delay. The Appeal Board should tell you and the HSP or OHT what the hearing date is at least 7 days ahead of time.
You can say whether you want the hearing to be in writing or by teleconference. But the Appeal Board makes the final decision.
Within 3 days after the hearing, the Appeal Board makes its decision. It can:
- agree with the decision made by the HSP or OHT,
- tell the HSP or OHT to make a different decision, or
- make its own decision and tell the HSP or OHT to follow it.
The Appeal Board sends you and the HSP or OHT its decision in writing. It must also give you written reasons for its decision as soon as possible.
The Appeal Board’s decision is final and you cannot appeal it. Visit www.hsarb.on.ca for more information.
You can call the Appeal Board at 1-866-282-2179 or 1-877-301-0889 (TTY). Or, you can email hsarb@ontario.ca.
3. Other types of complaints
If your complaint does not fit under either of the first 2 processes, there is a third process you can use.
For example, you can complain to the HSP or OHT if you think your rights in the Patient Bill of Rights are not being respected. Say what happened, how you felt, and what you want to happen. Put your complaint in writing and ask for a written reply.
The HSP or OHT is supposed to reply to your complaint within 60 days. The reply must say what they have done about your complaint.
If they have not done anything, they have to say why and what they plan to do about it in the future.
You cannot appeal the decision but you may have other options. See the chart below.
Type of complaint you have
| What you might do |
|
|---|---|
| Unhappy about how your complaint was handled | Complain to the Patient Ombudsman patientombudsman.ca |
| Behaviour of a member of a professional college, such as a nurse, therapist, or social worker | Complain to their professional college |
| Quality or amount of services | Contact a lawyer |
| Criminal acts, such as assault, theft, or fraud | Call the police |
| Being discriminated against for reasons such as your race, religion, gender, or disability | Apply to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal hrlsc.on.ca |
| Not respecting your privacy or problems getting or correcting health records | Contact the Information and Privacy Commission www.ipc.on.ca/individuals |