This event was co-hosted by Patient Ombudsman as part of Family Councils Ontario 2025 Innovation Summit.
The session described the role of the Patient Ombudsman in helping to resolve complaints from current or former patients, long-term care residents, and their caregivers about experiences in Ontario’s long-term care homes, as well as public hospitals, home care services, and community surgical and diagnostic centres. Since opening the office in 2016, the Patient Ombudsman had noted a steady growth in complaints year over year, receiving nearly 5,000 complaints in the previous year. The office was preparing to release its latest annual report in November, which would provide an overview of the kinds of complaints the office received in 2024/25, patient stories that highlighted how complaints were resolved, and recommendations the office made to improve health care experiences for all Ontarians
Speaker: Craig Thompson, CHE, P. Eng. Patient Ombudsman (Ontario)
Appointed Ontario’s Patient Ombudsman on March 29, 2021, having first served as the office’s Executive Director starting in 2017. The office of the Patient Ombudsman receives complaints about experiences with Ontario’s public hospitals, long-term care homes, home and community care services, and community-based surgical and diagnostic centres.
Craig has more than 40 years of leadership experience working in the public and private sectors of ombuds, health care, communications, mediation, and engineering. He is a recognized health care leader who is passionate about improving the quality, safety, and experience of health care for patients, residents and caregivers in Ontario. Craig is active in the Canadian ombuds community having recently completed his third term as Vice President on the board of directors of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman (FCO). He is a Certified Health Executive and a registered Professional Engineer.