How to make a complaint

Ontario’s Patient Bill of Rights says that you have the right to be told in writing how to make a complaint.

Ask your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP for a copy of the complaint process.

Follow the complaint process carefully. Be sure not to miss any time limits.

You can make a complaint about:

1. abuse, neglect, or poor care that hurts you or puts you at risk of being hurt
2. decisions that are made about your care plan
3. other problems

Each type of complaint has its own complaint process. You must use the one that’s 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 about your OHT or HSP, or one of their staff members, employees, or contractors.

You can complain that they:

• abused you
• neglected you, which means they agreed to give you care but did not look after your basic needs
• did not give you the proper care
• did not have the skills to care for you

But you must show that because of what the person did or did not do, you were harmed or were at risk of being harmed.

How to complain

Make your complaint to your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP. They’ll work together to deal with your complaint.

You can complain over the phone or in writing. Explain what happened and how it harmed you or put you at risk of being harmed.

They must tell you that they got your complaint and start looking into it right away.

Within 10 days, they must tell you what they’ve done about your complaint.

And they must 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 must say:

• what they’ve done about it, and
• how they’ll stop something like it from happening again.

2. Your care services

You can complain if your OHT or HSP, or or one of their staff members, employees, or contractors decides:

1. you do not qualify for a service
2. not to add a service to your care plan
3. how much or how many hours of a service you’ll get
4. to stop a service that’s in your care plan

How to complain

Make your complaint to your care coordinator. You can complain over the phone or in writing.

Explain why you think the decision was wrong, how it affected you, and what you think you need.

If you’re not happy with how your care coordinator deals with your complaint, ask to speak to their manager.

If you’re not happy with the manager’s response, ask for a formal review. The manager will tell you how to do this.

Make an appeal

You can appeal to the Health Services Appeal and Review Board (Appeal Board) if any of the following are true:

• your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP says that they’re 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 Get legal help and 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’re appealing. Say why you think it’s wrong.

Have a hearing

The Appeal Board should:

• start your hearing within 30 days of getting your notice asking for a hearing, unless you agree to a delay
• tell you and your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP what the hearing date is at least 7 days ahead of time

The Appeal Board decides on the type of hearing. But you can ask for your hearing to be in person, or by video conference or teleconference.

You can also ask for a written hearing where the Appeal Board decides based only on the documents you send.

The Appeal Board’s decision

Within 3 days after the hearing, the Appeal Board decides. It sends you its decision in writing and can:

• agree with the decision your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP made,
• tell them to make a different decision, or
• make its own decision that they must follow.

The Appeal Board’s decision is final. You cannot appeal it. But you might be able to ask for a judicial review.

3. Other types of complaints

You can also make a complaint about things other than abuse or your care services.

For example, you can complain to your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP if you think your rights in the Patient Bill of Rights are not being respected.

How to complain

Make your complaint to your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP. They’ll work together to deal with your complaint.

You can complain over the phone or in writing.

They must reply within 60 days and say what they’ve done about your complaint. If they have not done anything, they must say why and when they plan to do something.

You cannot appeal if you do not agree with how your care coordinator, OHT, or HSP deals with your complaint. But you may have other options. See the chart below.

---

December 2025 Previous page Next page