Ontario’s health minister 'victim blames' patients for complaints, opposition says

Ontario’s health minister said patients need to be more compassionate in response to a new report that revealed thousands of complaints tied to a lack of sensitivity and respect in the health-care system.

Health Minister Sylvia Jones spoke to reporters at Queen’s Park on Tuesday after the Ontario patient ombudsman report found a 43 per cent increase in patient complaints about lack of sensitivity, caring, courtesy, or respect, most in emergency departments, in the 2021/2022 fiscal year.

“I would ask for people to take a little bit of patience and have a little bit of compassion when you are that individual waiting in the emergency department because individuals who are sicker need access to critical care faster,” Jones said on Tuesday.

Jones acknowledged a couple of the disturbing instances detailed in the report, depicting patients dying after being blocked from waiting in the emergency department with family and treated inappropriately in the midst of a mental health crisis.

“The patient ombudsman plays an important role in that, but I'm also asking for people to be understanding and appreciate that these are challenging times for everyone,” she said

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Jones' response “is clearly victim blaming” patients for coming forward with their personal stories.

“The fact that this minister would stand here and tell Ontarians that the problem is that they're not being nice enough as patients to health-care workers, misses the whole point,” Stiles said, speaking after the health minister at Queen’s Park on Tuesday.

Stiles said the provinces has explicitly shown disrespect to health-care workers by suppressing their wages, playing a major role in the staffing crisis.

“I think the minister should stop lecturing everybody else about how they treat our health-care workers and start treating health-care workers with respect,” she said.

Ombudsman Craig Thompson said the pandemic “exposed existing vulnerabilities” in Ontario’s health-care system, including staffing issues and access to care.

“More and more we are seeing complaints that touch on issues of sensitivity, caring, courtesy and respect,” Thompson said.