Going the distance

The owner of a home for adults with mental health issues contacted the Ombudsman, frustrated that he couldn’t get ODSP or Developmental Services Ontario (DSO) to provide funding to take one of his residents to her cancer treatments. The resident wasn’t capable of travelling to the treatments by herself, and it meant the owner had to pay staff to cover for him at the home while he drove her to and from medical appointments.

Our Office brought this issue to the attention of staff at the ODSP, DSO and a community outreach agency, and facilitated communication between these agencies and the owner of the home. The local agency agreed to have a worker take the resident to her cancer treatments, and DSO put her on waiting lists for additional funding.