Accessibility
Unity Health Toronto is committed to providing equitable, inclusive and person-centred service access for everyone. Staff at all three of our locations, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare, make it a priority to deliver services in a way that prioritizes human dignity and maximizes independence, inclusivity and participatory decision-making. We support equal access to services by establishing procedures that identify and eliminate any barriers that may be standing in the way of the best possible care experiences for patients.
Unity Health has developed a Multi-Year Accessibility Plan as part of the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Organizations are required to create a publically available, written record of their pathways to comply with the legal requirements of AODA, address any current accessibility barriers, and prevent and remove future barriers. The 2024-2029 Unity Health accessibility plan will be the organization’s first network wide plan. Our goal with this iteration of the plan is to consider our legal obligations under AODA as a minimum requirement and explore ways we can move beyond compliance to a culture of disability inclusion throughout Unity Health Toronto.
Unity Health Accessibility Plan 2024 – 2029
For the status of our compliance to the applicable regulations, see the scorecard below.
Unity Health AODA Scorecard 2024
To request an alternative format, please contact the Office of Anti-Racism, Equity, and Social Accountability at aresa@unityhealth.to
Unity Health Toronto’s Accessibility Policy details practices and procedures that outlines how we provide care and services to people with disabilities, ensuring their needs are met in an inclusive manner. Our Accessibility Policy can be provided in accessible formats, upon request.
Wheelchair access
- Wheelchairs are available in all inpatient units and some outpatient departments including the Emergency Department, Ambulatory Care Centre and Fracture Clinic
For deaf, deafened and hard of hearing patients and staff
- Amplified phones: available at Switchboard
- Baby sound monitor with bed shaker – available on unit 1L
- Pocket talkers: available at Switchboard, Ambulatory Care Centre, Pre-Admit, and selected inpatient units
- Relay service: available by the telephone company
- Sign Language: please advise the staff so they can make necessary arrangements.
- Televisions Closed-captioned TVs are available upon request from the television rental service.
- Support person: not available at St. Joseph’s but welcomed
- Uniphone (TTY/TDD): available at Switchboard
Speech and/or language
- Communication board: available through Speech and Language Pathologists
- Pen and paper: available in all our units
- Support person: not available at St. Joseph’s but welcomed
Guide/animal services
- For the wellbeing of the service animal, we ask that patients and clients please have them clearly identified/recognized (e.g. identification card, harness, jacket). Also for the safely of the service animal, the owner is to be responsible for its complete care (i.e. feeding, cleaning issues), supervision and stewardship (i.e. is kept on an appropriate lead) while on the premises.
- By law there are some areas within St. Joseph’s that are excluded to service animals including the main kitchen, sterilization areas, and the operating room. Also entry into areas with critically ill patients (i.e. Intensive Care Unit or isolation rooms) requires clearance by our Infection Control Department in advance and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please speak to one of your health care providers or the Patient Care Manager in charge of your unit.
- If for health and safety concerns (i.e. staff having severe allergies to animals) the service animal is not permitted in an area, other provisions will be made to ensure that you receive the support otherwise provided by the service animal (i.e. the assistance of staff as sighted guides).
- Should the service animal need to be separated from you, the hospital staff will make a reasonable effort to assist you in finding an alternative care provider for the service animal. However, St. Joseph’s does not accept any liability for a service animal while on hospital premises.
Wheelchair access
- The Queen St. entrances are wheelchair accessible
- The Bond St. entrance is not wheelchair accessible
- The Queen St. entrance at the south end of the hospital is a Wheel Trans pick-up and drop-off location
- Wheelchair-accessible washrooms are throughout the hospital
- The Marketeria, Tim Hortons, Second Cup, and Chapel on site are all wheelchair accessible
- The following sites have wheelchair accessible main entrances:
- Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
- 61 Queen St. E.
- 73 Regent Park Blvd. (Sumac Creek Health Centre)
- 80 Bond St. (Health Centre)
- 95 Homewood Ave. (Wellesley – St. James Town Health Centre)
- 140 The Esplanade (St. Lawrence Health Centre)
- 55 Queen St. East
For deaf, deafened and hard of hearing patients and staff
- TTY telephone units for the hearing impaired are on hand throughout the hospital. You can request a TTY unit when you arrive at the hospital.
- If you would like a sign language interpreter for your visit, please let your health care provider know prior to appointment or as soon as possible.
Guide/animal services
- If you need someone to help during your visit, ask at the information desk and someone may be able to help you. Please note that staff and volunteers cannot lift or transfer you.
- Your service animal is welcome to come with you to your appointments. If you will be admitted to hospital, please inform the surgical pre-admission/ nursing unit in advance of to ensure that your service animal can be looked after.
- Note that there may be some instances where other plans may need to be made, but every effort will be made to ensure you have access to your service animal.
Wheelchair access
All public entrances to Providence Healthcare are accessible by wheelchair.
Wheelchair-accessible washrooms are available for visitors:
- Behind Reception at the main entrance to Providence Hospital (2nd Floor)
- Near the entrance to our cafeteria on the 1st Floor of Providence Hospital (A-Wing)
- Near our Scotiabank Learning Centre on the 1st Floor of Providence Hospital (B-Wing)
- In our clinics area
- Main entrance to the Houses of Providence
- Our hospital Chapel is accessible by wheelchair on the 3rd Floor.
For deaf, deafened and hard of hearing patients and staff
To ensure effective communication with patients who are deaf, deafened or hard-of-hearing, Providence Healthcare provides access to Pocket Talkers. Please speak with a staff member on your unit for more information.
Elevators
All buildings are equipped with elevators and are accessible to those in wheelchairs, as well as individuals with vision impairment (audio identifies the floor and direction of the elevator, and oversized buttons are imprinted with braille).
Patient escorts
If you need someone to help you during your visit to the hospital, please speak with the Information Desk at the main entrance to Providence Hospital. They may be able to arrange for a volunteer to assist you. Please be aware that we cannot lift or transfer you.
If you have a concern about accessibility at Unity Health we encourage you to first speak with your care team or the manager/supervisor of the area where you have the concern. They are in the best position to address your issue in a timely manner.
If your concern is still not resolved following this, please visit Feedback and Patient Experience webpage for more information.
- Unity Health offers trained and qualified language interpretation services to our patients and their families free of charge so you can receive care in your preferred language.
- If you or a family member feel most comfortable communicating in a language other than English (including American Sign Language), tell your healthcare provider and they will arrange an interpreter.
We currently provide interpretation services through three modes: over-the-phone (24/7), on-demand virtual (24/7) and in-person (Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm). All services are private and confidential.
Sign language and deaf interpretation services:
- Available both in-person and virtual
- Must be requested by your healthcare provider as far notice in advance for pre-scheduled appointments due to the limited number of qualified Sign language and Deaf Interpreters in the province
- Healthcare providers can access urgent ASL and Deaf Interpretation services after hours, and on weekends and holidays through the Canadian Hearing Services (CHS)
We welcome general inquiries about interpreter services by emailing: interpreterservices@unityhealth.to.
Unity Health’s website was designed to be accessible to the widest possible audience. As we have taken great care to ensure our site conforms to web accessibility standards defined by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), we have also employed additional features aimed at further enhancing your experience, such as font size control buttons, language preferences, print-friendly features and responsive content that displays information according to how the site is being viewed (e.g. mobile phone versus desktop computer). Our site is also fully compatible with popular screen reading software.
Resizing text
Our website gives you the option to increase or decrease the text size on nearly all of our web pages. The text size options are located at the top of each page.
You can also increase or decrease the size of a website’s text by changing the setting in your browsers. Click here for a video showing you how to change your browser settings.
Alternative text
Most images on our website have alternative text attributes, also known as alt text. When an image is used on a web page to convey information, its content is also described in text so it can be understood by text browsers and assistive technologies such as screen readers.
People who do not use screen readers can also see the alt text when you move your mouse cursor over an image on our website. We have not used alternative text attributes (alt text) for images on our website that are only decorative or part of the overall website design.
If you have questions or comments about website accessibility, please don’t hesitate to contact Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at 416-864-5034 or communications@unityhealth.to
Last updated January 10, 2025