Compliments & complaints

We take concerns about the quality of your care seriously. We try our best to make every encounter with us a positive one. You can see it in our commitment: "How you want to be treated." For us, this is the bar to strive for. If we don't meet it, we welcome your input.

PHC's Patient Care Quality Office (PCQO) is here to accept your feedback. Our goal is to provide an opportunity to resolve your concerns. This includes identifying areas for quality improvement.

We also welcome your compliments. It is our pleasure to pass on positive comments to the programs to ensure staff are recognized for their exceptional care.

1. If you have a comment, concern or compliment, we suggest you first talk to the person who provided the service. You can also talk to the manager of that care area. It is best to address and resolve complaints at the time and place they occur. You can also share your compliments with the staff directly. 
    
2. If your complaint still needs to be solved after you talk to the care area, you can contact the PCQO directly. You can make a complaint by phone or in writing by email or letter. 

Address letters to:
Patient Care Quality Office
Providence Health Care
1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6

The Patient Care Quality Office (PCQO) now asks every person accessing its services if they would like to voluntarily identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit. By ensuring Indigenous clients feel safe and supported to identify themselves when they contact the PCQO, Providence Health Care will be in a better position to hear their voices and respond to their needs.

Responding to the identification question is voluntary. You may decline answering without any impact on the quality of care you receive or the processing of your compliment, concern, or complaint. Proof of ancestry is not required. Providence Health Care will only use this information for the purpose of connecting you with relevant support services or to better understand your compliment, concern, or complaint. We will keep this information confidential and will not disclose it to another organization or external person except with your consent, or as required by law.

If you feel comfortable identifying yourself as an Indigenous person, you will be asked if you consent to having the Indigenous Wellness and Reconciliation (IWR) team involved in investigating your complaint.

We welcome your feedback. Complaints will not affect your access to quality care. We will use your feedback to identify improvements to the quality and safety of patient care.

At the PCQO, we handle complaints openly and transparently. We coordinate with patients and health care providers during the complaint process. 

1. We will formally document your complaint and handle it quickly and fairly. 
2. Our office will work with you to resolve your complaint. We do this by connecting with the appropriate care providers and investigating relevant policies and procedures.

We will provide you with a response to your complaint. We will also explain the decisions and actions we took at PHC as a result of your complaint.

It is helpful to include as much detail as you can about your experience. Please be sure to share:

• A clear description of your complaint.
• The program or care area
• The site/location of where it happened.
• The date(s) care was provided.
• The names of any staff you spoke to about your complaint.
• What outcome or resolution you seek.

If you are not satisfied with how your complaint was handled, you can contact the Patient Care Quality Review Board for an independent review of your complaint.

To request a review of your complaint by the Patient Care Quality Review Board, please contact:
 

Patient Care Quality Review Board
PO Box 9643
Victoria, BC V8W 9P1

You can find more information about the Patient Care Quality Review Board on its website or by asking the PCQO.

Thank you for helping us improve and helping us be the best health care provider possible.