Complaints Against Health & Social Service Practitioners
December 2008
Disclaimer: This material is prepared by the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office with the intention that it provide general information in summary form on legal and advocacy topics which is current when first published. The contents do not constitute legal advice or recommendations and should not be relied upon as such. Appropriate legal advice should be obtained in actual situations. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this material, the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions in the material, including those caused by negligence. The Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office is not responsible for the accuracy of information contained on other websites accessed by links from this website.
What is this guide about?
- This guide tells you what you can do if you have a complaint against a regulated health or social service practitioner who provides you with care, treatment, diagnostic, therapeutic or social services.
- In this guide, a practitioner includes a member of a social service profession regulated under the Social Work and Social Service Work Act who is either a social worker or a social service worker. As well, practitioners include health professionals regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act. Health professionals include: audiologists, chiropodists, chiropractors, dental hygienists, dental technologists, dentists, denturists, dietitians, massage therapists, medical laboratory technologists, medical radiation technologists, midwives, registered nurses, registered practical nurses, registered nurses with extended certificate of registration, occupational therapists, opticians, optometrists, physicians and surgeons, psychologists, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and speech language pathologists.
- Governing or regulatory colleges regulate the work of regulated health professionals. These colleges are established under Ontario law to make sure that practitioners are competent, and that they provide services to their patients or clients according to ethical and practice standards. The colleges are also required by law to investigate any complaints from members of the public who receive the services of these practitioners.
- It is your right that these practitioners treat you with dignity and respect, and behave ethically when they are providing services to you. If you are not satisfied with the services you received or the behavior of the practitioner, you have the right to complain to his or her regulatory college. Under the law, regulatory colleges are required to investigate your complaint and then report the results of the investigation to you.
Introduction
- Persons with mental illness receive care, treatment, diagnostic, therapeutic and other services from a number of regulated health and social service practitioners. These practitioners belong to governing bodies, which are called colleges. In order to be able to practice in Ontario, practitioners must be registered members of the college of their profession. For example, a nurse must be registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario and a psychologist with the College of Psychologists of Ontario. The colleges regulate how their members practice and provide services to their patients. You will find a list of colleges at the end of this guide.
When can I make a complaint?
- You can make a complaint against a practitioner when you have concerns about the care, treatment or other services you received or his/her conduct. Examples may include the following: the care you received is unsatisfactory; you were abused; you believe the fee you were charged was excessive; you believe there was a breach of professional ethics; there is a conflict of interest; there is harassment or coercion; there are breaches of privacy.
- Abusive actions may be sexual or physical. Abuse may also be psychological (that is, the practitioner may say things to you that generally are unwelcome and that make you feel bad).
To whom do I complain?
- Each regulated practitioner belongs to a governing or regulatory college. The college is established to protect the public and by law must have a process to address your complaints.
- Each college gives detailed information about making a complaint and will assist you if you need help. When you contact the college, ask for their complaints department.
- If the practitioner is an employee, for example an occupational therapist who works in a hospital, you can also complain to his or her employer.
Complaints Against Health Practitioners
How do I begin a complaint?
- Write down or record everything that you can remember about the incident as soon as possible. This should include information such as the name of the practitioner, his or her profession, the date and time of the incident, a description of what happened and where, and the names of any witnesses. You should also keep any documents that may be relevant to your complaint such as written notes and receipts.
- In most cases, your complaint must be in writing or recorded using either an audiocassette or videotape. Send your letter or recorded complaint to the Registrar or the complaints department of the college in question.
- If you need assistance to write your complaint, you can call the Registrar's office of the college in question. They can give you further assistance on how to write a complaint.
- If you are in a former provincial psychiatric hospital, there is a Patient Advocate who can assist you with writing and submitting a complaint.
What happens after I've made my complaint?
- Each college has a Complaints Committee, which is required by law to appoint a panel to investigate and respond to your complaint. The panel consists of at least 3 persons, one of whom must be a member of the public appointed by the Ontario government. The other members of the panel are other practitioners of the same profession who are members of the same college.
- The college notifies the practitioner that you have lodged a complaint against him/her.
- When investigating your complaint, the panel will review any letters and documents from you, the practitioner's response to the complaint, the testimony of any witnesses, your records and any other relevant information. The panel may also decide that a full investigation is required and that an investigator should be appointed to conduct interviews and collect further information.
- Following these investigations and reviews, the panel will make a decision about your complaint, which will be given to you in writing.
- A college may suggest other ways of addressing your complaint. For example, the college may suggest using mediation as a way of addressing your complaint. In mediation, you meet with the practitioner and a representative of the college to discuss your complaint and to see if your concerns could be resolved. You may have a lawyer, a friend or a Patient Advocate attend the meeting with you.
What are the possible outcomes?
- The panel of the Complaints Committee, after investigating your complaint, may take a number of actions. For example, the Committee may:
- send your complaint to the Discipline or Executive Committee of the college for further action;
- require the practitioner to appear before a panel of the college's Complaints Committee to be cautioned (that is, to receive a warning);
- give a written warning to the practitioner;
- take other actions it considers appropriate; for example, require the practitioner to obtain further training or to refrain from offering particular services;
- take no action at all.
- The panel of the Complaints Committee must give you and the practitioner a copy of its decision. The panel must also give you their reasons if they decided to take no action; if they required the practitioner to be cautioned; or, if they took any other action they considered to be appropriate.
How long will all this take?
- By law, the Complaints panel must make a decision about your complaint within 120 days of receiving it.
- If your complaint has not been dealt within 120 days, either you, or the practitioner you are complaining about, may apply to the Health Boards Secretariat (the Board) to require the Complaints Committee to make a decision about your complaint.
- The Board is a public board whose members are appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. The Board reviews decisions made by any college regulated under the Regulated Health Professions Act.
- If there is a further delay of more than 60 days from when the Board orders the college's Complaints Committee to make a decision about your complaint, the Board has the authority to investigate the complaint and make a decision within 120 days.
What can I do if I disagree with a decision of the Complaints Committee?
- When you disagree with the decision of the Complaints Committee, you can appeal it. When colleges report back to you with their decision about your complaint, they are required to give you information about how to appeal.
- Either you, or the health practitioner you are complaining about, may request a review of the panel's decision by the Health Board Secretariat. Please see the end of this guide for the address and phone number of the Board.
- The Board will not review a decision if the party who requested the review withdraws the request and the other party consents.
- The Board must give you and the regulated health practitioner notice that it will take no action if it considers your complaint to be frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process and to give you 30 days to make written submissions.
Complaints Against Social Workers or Social Service Workers
- If the practitioner you are complaining about is a social worker or social service worker, the College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers has a separate appeal process. It is similar to the process outlined above. Contact the college for further information.
Questions?
- If you have questions contact your local Patient Advocate or Rights Adviser or call the central Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office at 1-800-578-2343.
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College of Audiologists & Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario |
College of Chiropodists of Ontario |
College of Chiropractors of Ontario |
College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario |
College of Dental Technologists |
College of Denturists |
College of Dietitians of Ontario |
College of Massage Therapists of Ontario |
College of Medical Laboratory |
College of Medical Radiation |
College of Midwives of Ontario |
College of Nurses of Ontario |
College of Occupational Therapists |
College of Opticians of Ontario |
College of Optometrists of Ontario |
College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario |
College of Physiotherapists of Ontario |
College of Psychologists of Ontario |
College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario |
Ontario College of Pharmacists |
Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario |
College of Social Workers & Social Service Workers |
Health Boards Secretariat: |
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Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council |
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Federation of Health Regulatory Colleges of Ontario |
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