Media Guidelines at The Ottawa Hospital

Media must contact the Media Relations Officer for any questions/requests related to the hospital. We will respond to interview requests promptly and do our best to connect you with the appropriate spokesperson. Please identify yourself as a member of the media, including your media outlet.

Media are not permitted to interview staff, patients, or families on hospital premises unless authorized and accompanied by a communications staff member. For reasons of safety and patient confidentiality, security must remove media from the premises if they are unauthorized or unaccompanied. Learn more about access to the hospital.

Due to patient confidentiality and privacy legislation, TOH will not provide patient condition checks to the media. We may provide general updates related to community incidents involving multiple patients.

Outside regular office hours, TOH always has Media Relations staff on-call; however, this service is strictly reserved for emergencies. For these calls, it is important that reporters leave a full contact name and phone number.

Patient Condition Definitions
Satisfactory	Vital signs are stable* and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and comfortable. Making favourable progress.
Fair	Vital signs are stable* and within or close to normal limits. Patient is conscious. Patient may have minor complications.
Serious	Acutely ill. Vital signs may be unstable* and not within normal limits. Patient may be unconscious. There are major complications.
Critical	Vital signs are unstable* and not within normal limits. There are major complications and indications are unfavourable.
* Note: The terms “stable” and “unstable” are only a description of a patient’s vital signs which includes temperature, pulse, respiration, and blood pressure.

Last updated on: April 13th, 2022

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