Complaints Process Exit Surveys
"A perception on the general public side is that the [regulator] is an old boys' club for [the professionals it regulates]…to protect [registrants] from accusations and deflect complaints that come in from patients…
The perception from those [registrants] who are really critical of us is the opposite of this. They believe…we haul [everyone] before a discipline committee no matter how trivial or vexatious the matter is."
- Adapted from Perception vs. Reality (video by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario)
The College strives to deliver a complaints process that is thorough, fair and timely. In 2016, we began using an exit survey for registrants and complainants to help in evaluating the College's complaints process. When a complaint file is closed, both the registrant and the complainant receive an invitation to provide their feedback on the complaint process. The surveys are administered by an external research company, Pivotal Research Inc.
Pilot Project Results
The surveys began as a pilot project in 2016, and in 2017 the Board expressed its support for the continuation of the complaints process exit surveys for a second year.
The results of the 2016 pilot project are contained in the report below. Note that because of the nature of any complaints process, it is likely that one of the two parties will be dissatisfied with the outcome. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate a participant's experience of the process rather than their satisfaction with the outcome of their complaint.
*note that for confidentiality reasons survey participant comments were omitted from the report.
