The Patient Ombudsman (french: Ombudsman des patients) is an

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

office which acts as a neutral body of last resort for complaints about the healthcare system in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The Patient Ombudsman has jurisdiction over public hospitals and long-term care homes, as well as home and community care coordinated by the

Local Health Integration Network {{for, the superseding agency, Ontario Health (agency) Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) were the health authorities responsible for regional administration of public healthcare services in the Canadian province of Ontario. Legacy LHIN func ...

s (LHINs). The position was created in 2015 through amendments to the '' Excellent Care for All Act''. Unlike the

Ontario Ombudsman The Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario is an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. Role The office's jurisdiction includes more than 500 provincial government ministries, agencies, corpor ...

, the Patient Ombudsman is not an independent officer of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

; the Patient Ombudsman's office is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health's advisory agency Health Quality Ontario. In the office's first year, it received 2,000 complaints. The bulk of complaints were about Ontario's hospitals. The office received 2,300 complaints in its second year of operations. Amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in C ...

, Ombudsmen Cathy Fooks released a series of recommendations to deal with the pandemic in long-term care homes, such as better whistleblower protections, communications and visitation systems.

List of Patient Ombudspersons

Christine Elliott Christine Janice Elliott (born April 13, 1955) is a retired Canadian politician in Ontario who served as the 11th deputy premier of Ontario and the Ontario minister of health from 2018 to 2022. Elliott was elected to represent the riding of New ...

(1 July 2016 – 1 February 2018) * Craig Thompson (1 February 2018 – 12 July 2020), Executive Director managing day-to-day operations * Cathy Fooks (13 July 2020 - December 2020), died in an accident shortly after appointment *Craig Thompson (29 March 2021 - present)

References

External links

* {{ONGovDept 2015 establishments in Ontario Government agencies established in 2015 Politics of Ontario Ombudsmen in Canada Canada Patient Ombudsman