Accessibility – Customer Service Policy & Procedure
 
 
Accessibility - Customer Service Policy
 
The Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital is committed to providing service in a manner that protects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. The hospital is committed to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to access our services and allow them to benefit from the same service as people without disabilities.
 
Purpose:
Through the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 Ontario is working to make the province fully accessible to people with disabilities by 2025. Under the Act, the province is developing five (5) accessibility standards that organizations will be required to follow to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility.
 
The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07) came into force on January 1, 2008. The compliance date for this standard is January 1, 2010. The standard sets requirements in a number of key areas and will be reviewed provincially at least every five (5) years.
 
Scope
The Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital is committed to excellence in service delivery to persons with disabilities. This policy applies to all staff, physicians, students, volunteers and contractors.
 
Definition
“Alternative Service” means a service generally intended to be temporary that approaches the desired result until such time as the barrier is removed or an equivalent service is put in place.
 
“Assistive Device” means an auxiliary aid such as communication aids, cognition aids, personal mobility aids and medical aids (ie. Canes, crutches, wheelchairs or hearing aids).
 
“Contractor” means a company or person with a formal or informal contract to do a specific job on behalf of the hospital.
 
“Customer” means any person who receives or seeks to receive goods or services from the hospital. Customer includes persons who involuntarily receive service imposed by an external authority.
 
“Equivalent” means having similar effects.
 
“Service Animal” means any animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability as defined in Ontario Regulation 429/07.
 
“Support Person” means any person whether a paid professional, volunteer, family member or friend who accompanies a person with a disability in order to help with communications, personal care or medical needs or with access to goods and services.
 
 
Establishment of Policies, Practices and Procedures:
 
Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital shall use reasonable efforts to ensure that its policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the following principles:
 
Goods or services will be provided in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities.
Persons with disabilities will be given an opportunity equal to that given to others to obtain, use and benefit from the goods and services.
The hospital will communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability including accessible notifications and respond to questions.
The hospital staff will be trained to communicate, provide appropriate assistance and services in a manner that takes into account the person’s disability.
Where fees for goods and services are advertised or promoted by the hospital, it will provide advance notice of the amount payable, if any, in respect of the support person.
 
 
Procedures:
 
Communication:
 
The Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital shall:
  • Communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability;
  • Train staff and volunteers on how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities;
  • Provide accessible notifications to all of our patients, visitors, staff in the following formats upon request: e-mail, large print, hard copy;
  • Answer any questions people with disabilities may have about the content of the communication in person, by telephone, e-mail or in writing.
 
Telephone Services:
 
The Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital shall:
  • Train staff to communicate with customers over the telephone in clear and plain language and to speak clearly and slowly;
  • Offer to communicate with customers by e-mail, in writing, in person, or by relay service if telephone communication is not suitable to their communication needs or is not available.
 
Assistive Devices:
 
The Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital shall:
  • Ensure that appropriate staff are trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by people with disabilities while accessing our goods or services; and
  • That appropriate staff know how to use the following assistive devices available at the Hospital for people with disabilities (see Appendix 7 for list of assistive devices)
► overhead paging system
► automatic doors
► wheelchairs
 
Use of Service Animals & Support Persons
 
Service animals – When a person with a disability is accompanied by a guide dog or other service animal, the Hospital will permit the person to enter the premises with the animal and keep it with him or her, unless the animal is otherwise excluded by law from the premises.
 
Should the service animal or guide dog be excluded by law from the premises, the Hospital will look to other available measures to enable the person with the disability to obtain, use or benefit from the Hospital’s goods or services. See Appendix 6 – Service Animals.
 
Service animals are excluded from the operating room.
 
Support Person
 
When a person with a disability is accompanied by a support person, they are permitted to enter the premises together and are not prevented from having access to each other while on the premises. The Hospital may require a person with a disability to be accompanied by a support person while on its premises, but only if a support person is necessary to protect the health and safety of the person with the disability or the health or safety of others on the premises.
 
Where fees for goods and services are advertised or promoted by the Hospital it will provide advance notice of the amount payable, if any, in respect of the support person, otherwise a support person shall not be subject to a charge/fee.
 
Billing
 
We are committed to providing accessible invoices to all of our customers. For this reason, invoices will be provided in the following formats upon request: for example, hard copy, large print, etc.
 
We will answer any questions customers may have about the content of the invoice in person, by telephone or e-mail.
 
Notice of Temporary Disruption
 
The Hospital will provide patients with disabilities notice in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facilities or services usually used by the people with disabilities.
 
This notice will include information about the reason for disruption, its anticipated duration, and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available.
 
The notice will be placed at appropriate public entrances and service counters on our premises, and where deemed applicable, on our website www.carletonplacehospital.ca.
 
If the disruption is anticipated, the Hospital will provide a reasonable amount of advance notice of the disruption. If the disruption is unexpected, notice will be provided as soon as possible. See Appendix 7 Templates for Disruption of Service.
 
Training
 
Training will be provided to staff, volunteers, consultants and agents and will be comprised of the following components:
 
Staff, Department Managers, Volunteers
Training will include viewing the Ministry of Community and Social Services web site http//www.mcgs.gov.on.ca/mcss/serveability/splash.html and www.oha/discovercampus.com.
 
Training for all staff will include an accessibility customer service guide book.
 
Contractors and Agents
 
Contractors and agents will be required to provide documentation that contractors working on behalf of the Hospital received accessibility training and read the guide book.
 
Covering Letter and Compliance Sign Off Sheet
 
Each departmental manager will initially receive a letter regarding training for their department. Training for Customer Service Accessibility will be recorded as part of the Health and Safety training data base. A Compliance Sign Off Sheet will be included with the covering letter which is to be completed and returned to the educator. See Appendix 8.
 
Staff/volunteers will be trained on an ongoing basis when changes are made to the policies, practices and procedures.
 
The educational Human Resources department will keep records of the training provided, including date training is provided and the number of persons trained. Initial training of this standard will be completed by December 31, 2009.
 
For every new person hired, training will be provided within 6 months after a staff person commences their duties.
 
Training may cover the following:
 
  • The purposes of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 and the requirements of the customer service standard:
  • Information on Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital’s policies, practices and procedures dealing with AODA,
  • How to provide goods and services in a manner that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities;
  • How to interact and communicate with persons in a manner that takes into account their disabilities;
  • The process for people to provide feedback to Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital about its provision of goods to persons with disabilities, and how the Carleton Place and District Memorial Hospital responds to the feedback and takes action on any complaint;
  • How to interact with persons with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a guide dog, service animal or a support person to access goods and services;
  • How to use equipment or devices available on the Hospital premises or provided by the Hospital that may help with the provision of goods and services. This training will be specific to each department;
  • What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing the Hospital’s goods and services.
 
 
Feedback Process
 
To assist the Hospital in ensuring that the delivery of goods and services to those with disabilities is provided in an effective and timely manner, individuals are invited to provide their feedback as follows:
 
In writing, in person, e-mail or telephone, addressed to:
 
Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital
Attention: Chair of Accessibility Committee
211 Lake Avenue East
Carleton Place, Ontario
K7C 1J4
 
The Chair will respond either in writing, in person, e-mail or by telephone acknowledging receipt of feedback and will set out the action to be taken in response to any complaints. A response will be provided within twenty one calendar days.
 
Information about the feedback process will be posted and on the website www.carletonplacehospital.ca
 
 
Modifications to This or Other Procedures
 

The Hospital is committed to developing customer service practices and procedures that respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. Therefore, changes may be made from time to time to the procedures resulting from the feedback received and improvements to customer service for people with disabilities.

Accessibility Removing Barriers Pamphlet

  


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