Accessibility

The Ottawa Hospital is committed to providing everyone with the same opportunity to access and to benefit from hospital services by identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to support accessible and inclusive care and services.

Accessing The Ottawa Hospital Campuses

The hospital provides accessible parking, accessible entrances, wheelchairs, and elevators at each of our campuses.

Each campus map shows accessible entrances and elevators.

Accessible Parking

All patient and visitor parking lots and meters have accessible parking spaces. Parking rates for accessible spaces are the same as other parking spaces.
To pay for your parking, use the ticket that you received at the gate to pay inside the main campus building at one of the pay machines. These are located at the main entrances. You can also pay at the exit gate with a credit or debit card.
More information on parking can be found on the Parking page

Accessible Entrances

All main entrances are accessible and have automatic door openers.

Wheelchairs

Wheelchairs are typically available and located at the main entrance of all campuses and in the emergency departments of the General and Civic campuses. If you don’t see any, visit the Volunteer Information desk; they will help get more wheelchairs to these locations. Phones are also near the Information Desks so patients and families can call a porter if no one is there to assist.

Accessible Washrooms

Accessible washrooms are available at all campuses. All accessible washrooms have signs indicating they are accessible.

Accessibility Supports

Information desks

We have Volunteers available at each of our main entrances to provide information and assistance.
Volunteers are normally available Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., in person or on an interactive screen at the information desks.

Interpretation services

Spoken language and sign language (ASL & LSQ) interpretation services are available to support all our services.
Interpretation services are free.
If you will need interpretation services for your appointment, please let your care team know as soon as you can so they can book the service.
For more information, please visit the Interpretation Services page.

Personal amplifiers

Personal amplifiers (i.e., Pocket Talkers) are available to use while at The Ottawa Hospital.
If you need the hospital to provide you with a personal amplifier for your appointment, please let your care team know. They will make the necessary arrangements.

Service Animals

Service animals can accompany people with disabilities in all public areas of the hospital.
All service animals must have identification cards, harnesses, or vests when in the building. If not, the owner must be prepared to show a letter from a regulated health professional confirming that the animal is a service animal.
Service animal owners are responsible for their animal’s care, supervision, and behaviour.
Please let the unit or department know ahead of your scheduled visit if a service animal will accompany you.

Support Persons

We welcome support persons who are accompanying a patient.
Patients will be asked to identify the support person who is accompanying them and give permission for the support person to be present and/or help with discussions involving confidential information.

Scented Products

To make our environment welcoming to everyone, the hospital has a scent-free policy: staff, patients and visitors are asked to refrain from using or wearing scented products.

Notification of Disruption of Services and Access to Facilities

Sometimes we experience disruptions at the hospital that affect the availability of our services and access to our facilities (i.e., an accessible entrance is out of service).

We will make every effort to post notices in advance of planned disruptions, which can include scheduled maintenance or construction.

We will also make every effort to post a notice at the location of the disruption. This notice will include information on how long the disruption may last, and the nearest alternative service, if one is available.

The way we provide the notice will be determined by the impact of the disruption.
We will try to ensure that multiple accessible service disruptions do not happen at the same time.

For information on disruptions that are currently affecting access to hospital sites and services, please see the News and Updates section of our main page.

Web Accessibility

We work to ensure that all information posted on our website is accessible.

If you find information on this website that you cannot access, please email the web officer at webofficer@toh.ca. Please include a link to the item and add details if possible.

If the hospital owns or manages the content, we will make every effort to fix the issue. If necessary, we can provide the information in a different format.

Requesting Information in a Different Format

If you would like to request documents or information provided to you from the hospital in a different format, please speak to a member of your health-care team during your visit. We will make every effort to provide information in the format you request.

Accessibility Feedback

We welcome your feedback and invite you to help us improve accessibility at The Ottawa Hospital. If you have identified any barriers to access, or if you have any questions, concerns or comments on the way we provide care and services, please contact us.

You can provide Accessibility feedback by:

Using our Online Feedback Form to submit feedback or to provide contact information if you want someone from the hospital to contact you.
Contacting the Patient Relations office by telephone, fax, or mail.

Telephone: 613-798-5555 ext. 13377
Fax: 613-761-5469
Mail: Box 133 – The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus
c/o Department of Patient Relations
1053 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9

Public feedback on issues regarding accessibility, including concerns with the process to receive feedback, are handled in the following manner:

The Patient Relations Department receives public feedback.
- Acknowledgement of receipt is provided within 1-3 business days.
- The feedback is reviewed and the leaders in the relevant sectors of the hospital are informed of the issues raised.
Once the issues are reviewed by the leaders and appropriate next steps are determined by the relevant sectors of the hospital, the Patient Relations Department informs the individual who submitted the feedback of the next steps to address issues, if this individual expressed interest in receiving a follow up.
Issues regarding accessibility are tracked and categorized.

Additional Information

Getting to the hospital

At the hospital

After your visit

Accessibility Accountability

To meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, The Ottawa Hospital has created an accessibility policy and follows a multi-year accessibility plan. We also provide reports on the status of accessibility.

To submit your comments on Accessibility at The Ottawa Hospital, please complete the Feedback Form.

Do you need information in another format?

If you have a disability and would like information in a different format, please ask us. We will work with you to create the format that’s best for you. We are happy to support the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005).

Please send your request to accessibility@toh.ca.

Last updated on: December 13th, 2024