Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Privacy Protection

The South West Local Health Integration Network, or "LHIN", manages the content of the SouthWesthealthline.ca website, which is operated on the LHIN's behalf by thehealthline.ca Information Network, a non-profit organization.

Both the LHIN and thehealthline.ca Information Network recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of our website visitors. We are strongly committed to protecting your privacy, whether you are browsing for information or submitting information on SouthWesthealthline.ca.

The handling of all personal information on this website is governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act or "FIPPA", an Ontario law designed to ensure proper protection of privacy. It is under the authority of FIPPA that personal information is collected on this site, for the purpose of properly performing administrative duties as authorized by the LHIN's enabling legislation. We retain your personal information only as long as it is needed for this purpose, and then we securely destroy it. For as long as we retain your information, we use all reasonable administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect your information from unauthorized use or disclosure.

If you have any questions about the handling of personal information on this website, you may contact:

South West LHIN Privacy Officer
Telephone: 1-866-559-5111
Email Address: sw.privacy@hccontario.ca
Mail Address: 356 Oxford St W, London, ON N6H 1T3

Below, we describe the information the website collects about you, and what we do with it.

Surveys, requests and forms

When completing a survey, requesting information or submitting a form, you may be asked to provide personally identifying information such as your name or email address. If so, the preamble of the survey, information request or form will spell out the specific purpose of collecting your personal information, and the information will only be used to fulfill the specific purpose, and will not be shared with third parties unless clearly indicated.

Cookies

Like most websites, SouthWesthealthline.ca uses small pieces of information called "cookies" that are stored on your computer.

We use 'analytics' cookies to collect anonymous information about how visitors use our website. We log all web traffic and associate it with the visitor's Internet Protocol address. Our main goal for tracking this data is to improve the reliability of our site and the information we provide. We do not share this information with third parties. The use of this data does not allow us or our analytics service providers to identify individuals. You can opt-out of analytics activity by setting your browser to notify you when a cookie is sent and block analytics cookies if desired. Please consult your browser's Help Menu for instructions. Visiting our website with analytics cookies disabled will have no significant impact on your browsing experience.

Some sections of our website may depend on the use of cookies to function properly. In such cases, cookies are used to make it possible for us to provide these services. We do not share this information with third parties unless clearly indicated. If you do not wish cookies to be used in this way, you may choose to block them, but if you do, one or more sections of the website may not function correctly for you. To block cookies, please consult your browser's Help Menu for instructions.

e-Bulletins

SouthWesthealthline.ca maintains an email list for individuals who are interested in receiving our e-bulletin. Visitors are free to choose this service or to discontinue it at any time. You will only receive such email communication if you request it. We will not share your information with third parties.

Disclaimers and Risks

We strive to protect your privacy in every way we reasonably can, however:

We can make no guarantee as to the privacy protections of other websites we link to, since we do not control those sites; and
We can assume no liability for losses related to a breach of privacy or unauthorized access by third parties to electronic files.

If you communicate with us by email, you need to recognize that email communication with us—like all email communication—is subject to possible interception, loss or third-party alteration.

The website is not intended to handle any information about the health or healthcare of any identifiable individual. Please take care to refrain from supplying such information about you or anyone else to the website, by email or by any other means.

Only people who have been authorized by the LHIN may submit documents for posting on the website, and such submissions are reviewed and standardized by LHIN administrative staff, prior to posting. However, if you submit documents for posting, you need to recognize that submitted documents may contain personal or confidential information in hidden form, unless you have first taken steps to remove that information or prevent it from being created. For example, the properties of a Word document normally include the name of the document's author, and a photo taken with a digital camera may include information about where the photo was taken. In general, you may learn about such hidden information (also called "metadata") and how to remove or prevent it, by studying documentation related to the software or device used to create it. The LHIN reviewer of submissions cannot take responsibility for removing such information.

For more details about risks and limitations associated with this website, please see the website's Terms and Conditions of Use under the Legal Notice section. If you cannot accept these risks and limitations, you should not use the site.

Your Home and Community Care Support Services

Contact your primary care provider or Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 if you're experiencing symptoms of the 2019 novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Vaccines are now being made available to various population groups based specific eligibility. See your local health unit website for details:
Grey Bruce Health Unit
Huron Perth Public Health
Middlesex London Health Unit (MLHU)
Southwestern Public Health (Oxford - Elgin - St Thomas)

Local Health Care Service Changes

Ministry of Health's online self-assessment tool is available

COVID-19 Assessment Centres

Anyone who needs a test can get one and does not need an OHIP card. Tests are made available by appointment only at assessment centres and at pharmacies
Find an assessment centre near you

Find your Public Health Unit

Do not call 911 unless it is an emergency.