5. Learn about other options

There are other things you can do if you’re abused by a home care worker. You can:

• report any abuse that is a criminal offence to the police
• start a lawsuit against the home care agency for “breach of contract”

The lawsuit would explain that the agency broke their agreement with you by not following the Bill of Rights. The law says that agencies that provide home care services have agreed to follow the Bill of Rights. This is true even if they have never made a written or spoken agreement with you. If you think an agency has broken this agreement, you can go to court. If the court agrees with you, the court may decide that the Local Health Integration Network or the agency must pay you money to make up for breaking their agreement.

Complaints to professional organizations

Some kinds of home care workers are members of a “college”, which is the organization that regulates that person’s profession. If you have a problem with a specific kind of worker, you can complain to their college.

For example, you can complain about a:

• nurse to the College of Nurses of Ontario
• occupational therapist to the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario
• physiotherapist to the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario
• social worker to the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers