Patient Relations - Compliments and Concerns

In compliance with the Excellent Care for All Act, the Lake of the Woods District Hospital (LWDH) would like to ensure patients and families can easily and safely share their concerns, compliments, and feedback. We are here to ensure that our patients and families receive quality care in a supportive and safe environment.

LWDH values the input of our patients, families, and communities, as well as our partners.

If you wish to submit a concern or compliment related to your experience at the LWDH, please use the process below: 

1. Tell a staff member who is with you and ask for a response.
2. Ask to speak with a Department Manager, Team Lead, or Nursing Supervisor.
   
   Raising a concern directly with a member of our staff or management will allow for the most direct and quick follow-up.
   
   
3. If you wish to submit something more formal, we can gather this feedback in the following ways:

1. Submit through the online form
2. Submit through the paper form
3. Submit an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
4. Contact the Quality and Risk Department by telephone or mail:

Address
Patient Relations

c/o Quality/Risk Department
21 Sylvan Street West
Kenora, ON
P9N 3W7

Phone: 807-468-9861, extension 2282 or extension 2562
Fax: 807-468-3939

In order for a complaint or concern to be followed up appropriately, we need:

• The name of the patient/client.
• Contact information for follow-up.
• Specific details regarding the visit (i.e. department, date, and time).
• Your story and details of your experience and the care provided.
• Due to privacy legislation, we prefer to hear directly from the individual who had the experience. We cannot provide specific details about the care provided to another individual without their consent unless they are the parent/guardian of a minor, are the Substitute Decision Maker, or the Power of Attorney for Personal Care.

The Patient Relations Department will acknowledge your complaint within five (5) business days and respond to you within 30 business days. The LWDH Complaints Policy can be found here.

Once the investigation is complete, the LWDH team will:

• Make improvements where necessary to prevent a future complaint of a similar nature. Examples of this include development or revision to a form, policy, or flow sheet, referral to an internal committee, establishment of a working group etc.
• Provide education to hospital and/or professional staff, or the patient, visitor, or public.
• Oversee employee discipline and notification of appropriate professional regulatory body if appropriate.
• Communicate back to the complainant regarding the outcome to fully resolve the complaint. Privacy legislation also limits us in what exact details we can share (i.e., if it is a human resources issue), but we can always share information about policy changes and quality improvement implementations.

If your complaint remains unresolved after working through the Patient Relations process, you can contact the Patient Ombudsman with the Ministry of Health for further investigation and resolution.

To submit via paper, please use the:  LWDH Patient Complaint Printable Form

For more information, please read the:  LWDH Patient/Visitor Complaints Policy and Guidelines