March 08, 2018
May 2018

Sexual abuse act steps up patient protection

Recent changes in legislation came into effect this month which may affect your practice. The changes strengthen measures to protect patients; support victims of sexual abuse by regulated health professionals; and improve regulatory oversight and accountability.

These changes are part of the Protecting Patients Act, 2017, and they amend the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA).

Recent changes in legislation came into effect this month which may affect your practice. The changes strengthen measures to protect patients; support victims of sexual abuse by regulated health professionals; and improve regulatory oversight and accountability.

These changes are part of the Protecting Patients Act, 2017, and they amend the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA).

The changes include:

  • New definition of “patient”
    Within the context of sexual abuse, an individual is now considered to be a “patient” for one year after the therapeutic nurse-client relationship ends. This means that any sexual contact between a nurse and patient (or former patient) within the one-year time frame is sexual abuse. It does not matter if the patient consents to the sexual acts.

  • Funding eligibility for therapy and counselling for victims of sexual abuse
    Patients can now immediately apply for funding for therapy and counselling as soon as they file a complaint of sexual abuse.

  • Expanded list of sexual abuse acts and other conduct resulting in mandatory revocation
    Due to the amendments the Act makes to the RHPA, there are now more sexual acts that result in mandatory revocation of a nurse’s certificate of registration.

  • More information on the public Register (Find a Nurse)
    Nurses will be required to report any professional licence and registration they have in any jurisdiction. We are currently working to identify the details of this new reporting requirement; we will update you as information becomes available.

The College exists to uphold safe nursing care for the public. We are committed to ending sexual abuse. Learn more about the Protecting Patients Act, 2017 at: https://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2017/05/the-protecting-patients-act-2017.html.

What happens when a nurse is suspected of sexual abuse of a patient? Find out at: www.cno.org/sexual-abuse.

About CNO

The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the regulator of the nursing profession in Ontario. It is not a school or a nursing association. CNO acts in the public interest by:

  • assessing qualifications and registering individuals who want to practice nursing in Ontario.
  • setting the practice standards of the profession that nurses in Ontario are expected to meet.
  • promoting nurses' continuing competence through a quality assurance program.
  • holding nurses accountable to those standards by addressing complaints or reports about nursing care.

The College was founded in 1963. By establishing the College, the Ontario government was acknowledging that the nursing profession had the ability to govern itself and put the public's well-being ahead of professional interests.

For the latest information, please see our Nursing Statistics page.

Anyone who wants to use a nursing-related title — Registered Nurse (RN), Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) or Nurse Practitioner (NP) must become a member of CNO.

Frequently Asked Questions

Go to the public Register, Find a Nurse, to conduct a search for the nurse. Contact us if you can't find the person you are looking for.

All public information available about nurses is posted in the public Register, Find a Nurse, which contains profiles of every nurse in Ontario. Publicly available information about nurses include their registration history, business address, and information related to pending disciplinary hearings or past findings.

Unregistered practitioners are people who are seeking employment in nursing or holding themselves out as being able to practice nursing in Ontario, but who are not qualified to do so. They are not registered members of CNO. Only people registered with CNO can use nursing-related titles or perform certain procedures that could cause harm if carried out by a non-registered health professional. CNO takes the issue of unregistered practitioners seriously. See Unregistered Practitioners for more information.

To ensure procedural fairness for both the patient (or client) and the nurse, the Regulated Health Professions Act requires that information gathered during an investigation remain confidential until the matter is referred to the Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practise Committee. CNO will not disclose any information that could identify patients (or clients) or compromise an investigation. See Investigations: A Process Guide for more information.

Information obtained during an investigation will become public if the matter is referred to a disciplinary hearing. If a complaint is not referred to a hearing, no information will be available publicly.

See CNO's hearings schedule, which is updated as hearing dates are confirmed. Hearings at CNO are open to the public and the media. For details on how to attend a hearing, contact the Hearings Administration Team.

A summary of allegations and the disciplinary panel outcomes can be found on the public Register, Find a Nurse. Full decisions and reasons are also available.

Where a disciplinary panel makes a finding of professional misconduct, they have the authority to reprimand a nurse, and suspend or revoke a nurse's registration. Terms, conditions and limitations can also be imposed on a nurse's registration, which restricts their practice for a set period. Nurses can also be required to complete remedial activities, such as reviewing CNO documents and meeting with an expert, before returning to practice.

For detailed information see the Sexual Abuse Prevention section.

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