Health Care Complaints

Depending on your situation, there may be different options for making a complaint. It is also possible that multiple options apply to the same set of facts. You may want to complain or take other action if, for example:

• your private health information was accessed or disclosed improperly
• your doctor performed treatment on you negligently
• you were treated unfairly at a hospital
• you were discriminated against based on a prohibited ground

One option is to contact the local Quality of Care Coordinator for your area. These specialists are sometimes referred to as a client representative or patient advocate. They can help you understand your rights and explain available options for resolving your concerns.

Certain types of health care providers have to be members of a professional association. These associations license or register professionals in their field and deal with complaints. They regulate the quality of care provided by their members. Examples are the:

• College of Dental Surgeons of Saskatchewan
• College of Physicians and Surgeons
• Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association

You can contact the appropriate professional association to get more information or to make a complaint.

Some health care providers, such as those offering alternative therapies, may be unlicensed. This means they have no governing professional association or other regulation. There is no official complaint procedure against these individuals.

The Ombudsman is a public official who takes complaints about the government. They can look into provincial and municipal entities treating citizens unfairly. Health care related entities include:

• the Ministry of Health
• the Saskatchewan Health Authority
• the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency
• hospitals
• health care facilities
• special care homes

Some emergency services are also provincial agencies. It is important to note that the Ombudsman cannot deal with complaints about an individual health care professional. The Ombudsman can only make recommendations for the agency to fix a situation going forward.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner oversees privacy laws. They can investigate complaints regarding the privacy of your personal health information. An example may be if your health records are insecurely stored. They also handle complaints regarding access to your health records. An example of this could be if you are denied access to all or part of a document.

The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission deals with human rights complaints. If you are discriminated against in a health care setting, you can make a complaint to the Commission. This discrimination must be based on a prohibited ground, such as race or religion. An example could be a doctor or nurse refusing to treat you because of your sexual orientation.

Sometimes the conduct of a health care provider may be criminal. For example, providing a treatment that you do not consent to may be a criminal assault. You can complain to the police if you believe a health care provider has committed a criminal offence against you.

The law of negligence covers medical malpractice. You may be able to sue a health care professional if you have suffered harm due to treatment by a health care professional. You will only succeed in a legal action if the care provided by the health care professional fell below a certain standard. The standard is one of a professional of similar qualifications exercising reasonable care, skill and knowledge. You may also be able to sue a health care professional if they did not obtain informed consent for the procedure.

There are specific time limits that you have to sue. Generally speaking, patients have two years after they knew, or ought to have known, that they had a claim against a health care provider. There is an ultimate limitation period of fifteen years. This means that even if a patient was unaware of damages, in most cases they cannot sue after fifteen years have passed.