What happens if I decide to make a formal complaint about something that happened to me or someone I know?
We understand that this is not easy, and the decision is yours to make. Keep in mind that formal complaints cannot be anonymous. Here is some step-by-step information on what happens:
- Submitting a complaint
A formal complaint to the College must be in writing. It must include your name (or your name and the patient’s name, if you are submitting a complaint on their behalf).
Give details about your concerns and the name of the physiotherapist. Give your contact information. The College will contact you to confirm that your complaint has been received.
- Investigating the complaint
The College assigns an investigator to look into the complaint. Investigators are unbiased. They do not decide who is right or wrong — they just gather information. The investigator will contact you to ask more questions and get more details.
The investigator may also interview witnesses. They may ask for documents to confirm information they have gathered.
Once the investigator has gathered their information, they will confirm the complaint. This means that the formal complaint has officially started.
- The physiotherapist has a chance to respond to the complaint
The investigator will send a copy of your complaint to the physiotherapist within 14 days of receiving it. The physiotherapist then has 30 days to provide a written response to the College.
- A College committee reviews the complaint
A College committee carefully considers your written complaint, the physiotherapist’s response, and any other information and documents gathered in the investigation. The name of this committee is the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee. It is made up of physiotherapists and members of the public who have been appointed by the College Council.
The meetings of this committee are not open to the public. The person who made the complaint and the physiotherapist are not allowed to attend.
- The committee may decide to refer the case to the Discipline Committee
If the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee finds that there was a serious issue of professional misconduct or incompetence, like sexual abuse, it refers the matter to the Discipline Committee for a hearing.
Discipline hearings are open to the public. They are similar to a trial in a court of law. The College posts details about the complaint on the College's Upcoming Hearings webpage.
The results of the hearing are also published on the Discipline Decisions webpage, the Public Register and the CanLII website.
Upcoming Hearings Discipline Decisions The Public Register www.canlii.org
What if the Complaint is Not Referred to the Discipline Committee?
The Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee may decide that the complaint is not serious enough to refer to the Discipline Committee. However, it can take several other courses of action, depending on the facts of the case:
Take no action
The committee may decide, based on all the information it has, that it does not have any concerns with the practice or conduct of the physiotherapist. Or it may find that it cannot make a decision because there is not enough information. The committee can only make a decision based on facts. It cannot assess the credibility of one person over another.
Offer advice
The committee may decide to offer the physiotherapist advice about their practice going forward. For example, it may recommend that the physiotherapist review learning materials on the College website to help improve their practice.
Impose an undertaking
The committee may require the physiotherapist to take action to address some concerns from the complaint. It can ask the physiotherapist to sign an ‘undertaking’ or contract. Information about the contract is published on the College’s Public Register. This information is removed after the physiotherapist has done what they are required to do.
Restrict the physiotherapist’s practice
If the committee has serious concerns about public safety, it can suspend or place restrictions on the physiotherapist’s license. Practice restrictions are listed on the Public Register until the physiotherapist does what the committee requires. Practice restrictions are often part of an undertaking.
Require educational upgrading
The committee may decide, based on the facts of the case, that the physiotherapist needs to upgrade their skills. This may done through course work or coaching. This is called a Specified Continuing Education and Remediation Program. Details of the physiotherapist’s program are listed on the College’s Public Register.
Impose a caution
The committee will ask the physiotherapist to describe what they have learned or changed in their practice because of the complaint. The physiotherapist will then receive a verbal caution from the committee. Details about the caution are posted on the Public Register permanently.