Gélinas reiterates call for ombudsman oversight in health care

NDP health and long-term care critic France Gélinas introduced a private members bill to expand the oversight of the Ontario ombudsman to the health-care sector.

“With ombudsman oversight, people will have access to an independent investigator; a third party that can listen to them, investigate and get to the bottom of issues,” said Gélinas. “Life and death events happen in our health-care facilities every day. People will finally be able to get answers and gain closure.

“This bill would be a game-changer for patients across the province. Currently, the only oversight mechanisms at health-care organizations are internal, or left to the Ministry of Health for a lot of people this process does not work.”

Currently, the ombudsman does not have oversight of most front-line health-care organizations, including hospitals, retirement homes, long-term care facilities, ambulance services, health units and more. This means that when patient complaints cannot be settled internally, there is no one else to appeal to and to look at systemic problems, said Gélinas.

“Today, Ontario is the only province that does not have ombudsman oversight of hospitals or long-term care facilities, we are simply falling behind,” said Gélinas.
“Ensuring that complaints are investigated independently and impartially must be a priority. Ontarians should have somewhere to turn if something goes wrong with the care they receive. We all win when our health-care system improves.”

The bill was created in response to numerous unanswered complaints and the petitions, activism and social media awareness campaigns launched by numerous people, Gélinas said.