As a patient in an Ontario hospital or clinic, you have rights and responsibilities.​

 

In Ontario, your rights are protected by laws such as the Health Care Consent Act, the Long-Term Care Act and the Mental Health Act. Read the full Patient's Bill of Rights here.

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Your Rights as a Patient 

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As a patient, you have a right to:

• Receive safe and proper care

• Give or refuse consent for any procedure, for any reason (Consent is giving permission for something to happen)

• Have a medical professional clearly explain health problems and treatments to you

• Be involved in health care decisions

• Ask questions and talk about your concerns

• Ask for a second opinion (asking another doctor about your issue)

• Know that your information is kept private

• Ask to see your health information records

• Ask to send your health records to another medical professional 

 

If a health care professional doesn’t follow your rights, you can complain. 

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To complain about a health care professional, like a doctor or nurse, you have to go to the organization that regulates them (provides the rules they have to follow). For example, if your doctor won’t give you your medical records, you complain to the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Another example is if you think that your doctor acted unprofessionally. Then, you can complain to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO). 

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Your Rights as a Mother: MotherBaby Rights

Written by the International MotherBaby Childbirth Organization, the MotherBaby rights provide guidance and support for safe maternity care.​

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1. You and your baby have the right to be treated with respect

2. You have the right to be involved in and know about care for yourself and your baby

3. You have the right to be talked to using a language and words that you understand

4. You have the right to informed consent and to refuse any treatmen or procedure for yourself and your baby (Consent is giving permission for something to happen)

5. You and your baby have the right to receive care that betters your pregnancy, birth and postpartum experiences 

6. You and your baby have the right to receive support during labor and birth from the people that you choose

7. You have the right to be offered drug-free comfort and pain-relief measures during labour - You also can ask for these measures and use to be explained to you and to your companions!

8. You and your baby have the right to receive care based on evidence 

9. You and your baby have the right to receive care that isn't harmful

10. You have the right to receive education about healthy environments and disease prevention

11. You have the right to receive education about responsible sexuality, family planning and women’s reproductive rights

12. You have the right to receive supportive prenatal, intrapartum, postpartum and newborn care that focuses on your physical and emotional health 

13. You and your baby have the right to emergency treatment if your or your baby's life is in danger

14. You and your baby have the right to be cared for by a small number of people who work together 

15. You have the right to know about available community services for yourself and your baby

16. You and your baby have the right to be cared for by doctors and nurses with knowledge of breastfeeding

17. You have the right to be educated about the positives of breatfeeding and to be shown how to breastfeed 

18. You and your baby have the right to start breastfeeding after the first 30 minutes after birth and to stay together for at least the first hour

19. Your baby has the right to be given no 'fake' teats or pacifiers and to receive no food or drink other than breast milk, unless the doctors say it is medically necessary

20. You have the right to know about a local breastfeeding support group after you leave the hospital

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Your Rights as an Expectant and/or New Mother if You’re Considering Adoption

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You have the right to:

• See your baby after they are born

• Choose to hold, nurse, and care for your baby in the hospital

• Decide if the adopters can be in the labour or delivery room

• You have the right to change your mind and ask the adopters to leave at any time

• Have your own lawyer

• Choose to care for your baby without feeling pressured to decide about adoption 

• Be treated as the mother and a parent of your baby until and unless papers are signed

• Be treated with the respect of any mom

• Simply to be a mother - no matter if you’re unmarried, young, or financially strained, you still have the right to be a mother

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This web site is not intended to be, and you should not rely on any materials on this web site as, a source of legal advice. Postings to this web site have been prepared for informational purposes only.