The number of patients' complaints at the MUHC has gone down by nine per cent over the past year compared to the previous year, according to the ombudsman. But the users committee has seen an increase of 12 per cent.
The Central Users' Committee of the MUHC said they may get more complaints than the ombudsman because they have more experience dealing with patients of all cultural backgrounds and they are more accessible.
"They can call us, they could email us at email addresses that are not hospital or corporate email addresses. They email us if they have concerns on our personal email so they're less intimidated because they don't see us as a corporate entity, but as a relatable community-level entity that they can trust," said co-chair Seeta Ramdass.
"They trust us as other patients. They see the ombudsman office as more a continuation of the hospital administration."
Among the top complaints: trouble getting through to certain departments and difficulty getting service in English.
"They feel that they're being served by more unilingual Francophones, that they're not being understood," said Ramdass.
Ramdass said if the patient is willing, it could be beneficial to file an official complaint with the Ombudsman to have it in the database and work towards overall improved services.
CJAD 800 is awaiting comment from the ombudsman's office.