Legal Notice

SouthWesthealthline.ca Website Terms and Conditions of Use

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE. These terms and conditions govern your use of this website operated by thehealthline.ca Information Network on behalf of Ontario Health atHome, including the SouthWesthealthline.ca domain, (the "Ontario Health atHome Website"). "You" or "your" as referenced throughout these Terms and Conditions of Use means the person accessing or using the Ontario Health atHome Website or the Materials.

Ontario Health atHome reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions of Use at any time without prior notice by posting changed Terms and Conditions of Use on the Ontario Health atHome Website, and you are advised to review the Ontario Health atHome Website regularly for any changes. These Terms and Conditions of Use were last updated on June 28, 2024. You agree that by accessing and using any Ontario Health atHome Website you are bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use as may be changed from time to time. If you do not agree with or accept any part of these Terms and Conditions of Use, you should stop using the Ontario Health atHome Website immediately.

These Terms and Conditions of Use are organized as follows: (i) Part A – General, and (ii) Part B – Additional Requirements Where Content is Submitted to Ontario Health atHome.

Part A - General

COPYRIGHT, OWNERSHIP AND USE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The materials (the "Materials") contained in the Ontario Health atHome Website including, without limitation, information, text, content, videos, photos, graphics and sound or other multimedia content are owned by, and protected by copyrights and other proprietary rights in favour of Ontario Health atHome and third parties. All rights reserved. You shall not copy, modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit or use the Materials, in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Ontario Health atHome. You may print, in hard copy, portions of the Ontario Health atHome Website.

TRADE-MARKS

Certain names, words, phrases, logos, marks and designs that appear on the Ontario Health atHome Website (including "Ontario Health atHome") and related words and logos are official marks, trade-marks or trade-names of Ontario Health atHome in Canada. Ontario Health atHome is also the owner in Canada of additional official marks, trade-marks and trade names, registered and unregistered. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions of Use or on the Ontario Health atHome Website shall be construed as granting or conferring, either expressly, by implication, by estoppel or otherwise, a license or other right to you to use any of the marks or names or any other intellectual property right of Ontario Health atHome. The names of other companies, products and services referred to on the Ontario Health atHome Website may be trade-marks or trade-names of their respective owners. Any use of the trade-marks or trade-names of Ontario Health atHome or of third parties without the prior written consent of the applicable party is strictly prohibited.

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

In addition to complying with these Terms and Conditions of Use, you agree to use the Ontario Health atHome Website and Materials for lawful purposes only and in a manner consistent with local, national or international laws and regulations. Some jurisdictions may have restrictions on the use of the Internet by their residents.

Potential users of the Ontario Health atHome Website in any jurisdiction of the world whose laws (common, statutory, regulatory or codified) would: (i) void these Terms and Conditions of Use in whole or in any essential part (the essential parts being at least, but not only, the provisions relating to governing law, and limitation of liability); or (ii) render accessing the Ontario Health atHome Website illegal, are not authorized to use the Ontario Health atHome Website.

USE AND RESTRICTIONS

You are only permitted to use the Ontario Health atHome Website for your own personal, non-commercial purpose. Materials may only be printed, copied or saved to your own computer for your personal, non-commercial use provided that you maintain all copyright and other notices contained in such Materials. Use of any automated system or software to extract data from the Ontario Health atHome Website for commercial purposes (including, without limitation, screen scraping, database scraping and any other activity intended to collect, store, summarize or manipulate any Materials or data, whether by an automated program or a manual process) is prohibited. Additionally, you agree that you will not:

a.    take any action that imposes or may impose (to be determined in Ontario Health atHome's sole discretion) an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on Ontario Health atHome's infrastructure;
b.    interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Ontario Health atHome Website, or any activities conducted on or with the Ontario Health atHome Website;
c.     bypass any measures Ontario Health atHome may use to prevent or restrict access to the Ontario Health atHome Website;
d.    interfere with or disrupt the Ontario Health atHome Website or computer network connected thereto;
e.    impersonate any other person or entity or make any misrepresentation or defamatory or libelous statements;
f.      upload, post, transmit, publish or distribute any material or information to the Ontario Health atHome Website which contains a computer virus or other code, files or programs intended in any manner to disrupt or interfere with the functioning of the Ontario Health atHome Website or other users;
g.    use the Ontario Health atHome Website in such a manner as to gain unauthorized entry or access to the computer systems or networks of others or attempt to gain unauthorized entry or access to any password-protected or restricted areas of the Ontario Health atHome Website or a Ontario Health atHome computer or network system;
h.    violate any law or regulation or any generally accepted Internet practice or interfere with any other Ontario Health atHome Website user's ability to use the Ontario Health atHome Website and any of the services or products provided on the Ontario Health atHome Website;
i.      forge, alter or modify in any way any of the agreements, policies or other information posted or accessible within the Ontario Health atHome Website;
j.      delete or revise any material posted by any other person or entity; or
k.     allow others to use your subscription, login or user names, or passwords for the Ontario Health atHome Website.

ACCURACY OF INFORMATION

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on the Ontario Health atHome Website, no warranty of accuracy or completeness is expressed or implied. We reserve the right to correct errors and to change or update information at any time without notice.

OUTBOUND LINKING

Any link, (including hyperlinks, buttons or referral devices of any kind) used on the Ontario Health atHome Website is provided for your convenience only, and you access any link at your own risk. The appearance of a link on the Ontario Health atHome Website does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation or certification by Ontario Health atHome of a service provider's good or service, nor should the presence of a link in any way be construed as a suggestion that the site has any relationship with Ontario Health atHome or that a service provider is an agent of Ontario Health atHome.

INBOUND LINKING

Ontario Health atHome generally does not object to links to the Ontario Health atHome Website from third party sites. However, there are certain conditions that must be followed: Unless Ontario Health atHome enters into a specific written agreement with you, you may not use any of Ontario Health atHome's names, logos, designs, slogans, or marks in or with your links, except that you may link to the Ontario Health atHome Website using the plain text name: Ontario Health atHome.

Do not present the link to the Ontario Health atHome Website in any way that suggests Ontario Health atHome has any relationship or affiliation with your site or in any way that suggests Ontario Health atHome endorses, sponsors or recommends the information, products or services on your site or that suggests you are acting as an agent of Ontario Health atHome. Use of any of Ontario Health atHome's content, names, logos, photographs, designs, slogans or marks in any advertising, publicity, promotion, or in any other commercial manner without Ontario Health atHome's written permission for a particular use is strictly prohibited.

Use of any of Ontario Health atHome's names, logos, designs, slogans, or marks, or any other words or codes identifying the Ontario Health atHome Website in any "metatag" or other information used by search engines or other information location tools to identify and select sites, without Ontario Health atHome's written permission for a particular use, is strictly prohibited.

Ontario Health atHome is not responsible for any loss, damage, liability or expense that may accompany or result from your use of the link or domain name for the Ontario Health atHome Website including, but not limited to, any computer virus, technical, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incomplete, garbled or delayed computer transmissions.

Ontario Health atHome reserves the right in its sole discretion to order you to delete or modify your link to the Ontario Health atHome Website for any reason.

The link to the Ontario Health atHome Website may not be used or associated with any pornographic (including any depictions of nudity), unlawful, defamatory or other materials that would adversely affect any Ontario Health atHome or the Government of Ontario name, reputation or goodwill.

The linking of your web site to the Ontario Health atHome Website indicates your agreement to these Terms and Conditions of Use.

INDEMNITY

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Ontario Health atHome harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, demands, suits, actions, losses or expenses (including all legal fees) (collectively "Claims") arising out of:

a.    your infringement of any Ontario Health atHome or third party official mark, trade-mark, trade secret, copyright, patent or other intellectual property rights and from any Claims which may arise, now or in the future as a result of your use of the Ontario Health atHome Website;
b.    any act or omission by you, your employees, agents and subcontractors which results in: (i) loss, damage, interference with or disruption to, the Ontario Health atHome Website; (ii) use of the Ontario Health atHome Website for any illegal purpose; or (iii) use of the Ontario Health atHome Website to achieve any unauthorized or prohibited access to computer systems and data;
c.     your use of the Ontario Health atHome Website including any content you submit to Ontario Health atHome under Part B; and
d.    your breach of any of these Terms of Use, Ontario Health atHome's Privacy Statement or any rule, regulation, guideline or policy of Ontario Health atHome as may be established and changed from time to time and posted on the Website.

DISCLAIMERS

WHILE CARE HAS BEEN TAKEN IN THE PREPARATION OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE, SUCH INFORMATION IS OBTAINED FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES, MAY NOT BE CURRENT AND IS PROVIDED TO YOU WITHOUT CHARGE. INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE IS INTENDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, IS NOT INTENDED TO CONSTITUTE MEDICAL ADVICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON IN ANY SUCH REGARD. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A COMPREHENSIVE OR DETAILED STATEMENT CONCERNING THE MATTERS ADDRESSED. ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME DOES NOT RECOMMEND OR ENDORSE THE USE OF ANY HEALTH PRODUCT, SERVICE, DRUG OR TREATMENT METHOD DESCRIBED IN OR PROVIDED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

A.    USE OF THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED STRICTLY ON AN "AS IS", "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME DOES NOT WARRANT, REPRESENT, GUARANTEE OR COVENANT THAT THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DOES ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME MAKE ANY GUARANTEE, WARRANTY, REPRESENTATION OR COVENANT AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE, OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION OR SERVICE ON THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE. ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR INABILITY TO EXECUTE A TRANSACTION OR OBTAIN GOODS OR SERVICES RELATED TO ANY SUCH TRANSACTION, FOR WHATEVER REASON.
B.    THE DOWNLOADING OF MATERIALS FROM THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE IS DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK. ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME DOES NOT AT ANY TIME REPRESENT, COVENANT, GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT SUCH MATERIALS ARE FREE OF VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE CODE. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM AND DATA AND YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE COST OF ANY SERVICE, REPAIRS OR CORRECTIONS NECESSARY AS A RESULT OF THE USE OF THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE.

LIMITATIONS

IN NO EVENT SHALL ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME OR ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR SUBCONTRACTORS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, COMPENSATORY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR LOSSES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF INCOME, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF DATA OR BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY, OR CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE, THE USE OF THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE, THE USE OF ANY OTHER SITE OR PAGE ACCESSIBLE FROM THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE OR THE ACQUISITION OR USE OF ANY GOODS OR SERVICES PURCHASED THROUGH THE ONTARIO HEALTH ATHOME WEBSITE.

THE FOREGOING DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSES, CIRCUMSTANCES OR FORM OF ACTION GIVING RISE TO THE LOSS, DAMAGE, CLAIM OR LIABILITY, EVEN IF SUCH LOSS, DAMAGE, CLAIM OR LIABILITY IS BASED UPON BREACH OF CONTRACT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, A CLAIM OF FUNDAMENTAL BREACH OR BREACH OF A FUNDAMENTAL TERM), TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE THEORY, AND EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE LOSS, DAMAGE, DELAY, CLAIM OR LIABILITY.

PRIVACY NOTICE OF COLLECTION, CONSENT AND DISCLOSURE

Ontario Health atHome is committed to respecting the personal privacy of individuals using the Ontario Health atHome Website. Ontario Health atHome only obtains Personal Information (as defined in section 2(1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) such as your name, phone number, e-mail or street address if you choose to supply it through our website or by contacting us via e-mail. Please refer to the Privacy Statement for more information and our Notice of Collection. The Personal Information in your message and your email address will not be disclosed to anyone except Ontario Health atHome employees, agents and subcontractors who need the information in order to respond to your request. Ontario Health atHome does not use this information to create personal profiles.

You acknowledge that there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond the control of Ontario Health atHome and that the security, integrity and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and Ontario Health atHome through the Ontario Health atHome Website cannot be guaranteed.

Ontario Health atHome is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of its users' personal information. Ontario Health atHome’s Privacy Statement explains how Ontario Health atHome will ensure the confidentiality and privacy of the personal information you furnish to Ontario Health atHome. These Terms and Conditions of Use shall prevail in the event of a conflict or inconsistency with the Privacy Statement.

SITE USAGE AND SECURITY

To monitor site usage and improve the quality of our website, Ontario Health atHome, its agents or subcontractors gather information about the use of the Ontario Health atHome Website. We use web server logs and industry-standard website statistics software to count the number of users who visit our website and to count the number of views of particular pages, as well as to track other general statistics about our Website. The IP address of site visitors is also collected for the purpose of analyzing and generating statistics about site usage. An IP address is the number automatically assigned to the computer or to the Internet Service Provider requesting a URL. Ontario Health atHome cannot identify you from this information and this information is not disclosed to any third party.

Ontario Health atHome employs safeguards to secure the information contained on and collected through the Ontario Health atHome Website, including your Personal Information. Ontario Health atHome secures the Personal Information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Personal Information is transmitted only through the use of encrypted protection.

Personal Information submitted through the Ontario Health atHome Website will utilize secure encryption technology to help protect it and facilitate its arrival unread and unaltered at Ontario Health atHome servers. However, users should be aware that Personal Information could be intercepted over the Internet. Neither Ontario Health atHome or its employees, agents or subcontractors are responsible for the interception, collection, use or alteration of information transmitted over the Internet, such as by e-mail.

For site security purposes, Ontario Health atHome uses software programs and analytic tools to monitor network traffic that identifies unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

Ontario Health atHome may use "cookies". A cookie is a set of data that is placed into the browser's application folder on your computer. You may wish to have your browser enabled to notify you when it is receiving a cookie, if it is not already so enabled. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the web server that you have returned to a specific page. The purposes for which Ontario Health atHome uses cookies include tracking visits to this website and permitting Ontario Health atHome to customize the information that is available on the Ontario Health atHome Website. The Website operates on "implied consent" which means that by visiting and clicking through the site, we assume you agree with this usage. If you do not agree, then you should not use the Ontario Health atHome Website, or you can delete the cookies after visiting our sites.

TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF WEBSITE USE

Ontario Health atHome may immediately, with or without notice, suspend or terminate your use of the Ontario Health atHome Website and the related services or any portion thereof including any links to other websites at any time if, in Ontario Health atHome's sole discretion you breach any of these Terms of Use. Upon suspension or termination and thereafter you: (i) may no longer access and/or use the Ontario Health atHome Website without the prior written consent of Ontario Health atHome, and (ii) must immediately destroy all materials obtained from the Ontario Health atHome Website and all related documentation and all copies thereof.

Ontario Health atHome may, in its sole discretion, change, suspend or terminate, temporarily or permanently, the Ontario Health atHome Website or any part of it or any of its features including any links to other websites, at any time, for any reason, without liability to Ontario Health atHome and without notice to you or any other person.

If your permission to use the Ontario Health atHome Website is terminated by you or Ontario Health atHome for any reason, these Terms will nevertheless continue to apply and be binding upon you in respect of your prior use of the Ontario Health atHome Website and your use of services through the Ontario Health atHome Website and anything connected with, relating to or arising from those matters.

GOVERNING LAW

These Terms and Conditions of Use shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario, and the laws of Canada as applicable, and you irrevocably attorn to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario.

MISCELLANEOUS

These Terms and Conditions of Use along with our Privacy Statement constitute the entire agreement between Ontario Health atHome and you pertaining to your use of the Ontario Health atHome Website.

Ontario Health atHome's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms and Conditions of Use shall not be construed as a waiver of such provision.

These Terms and Conditions of Use shall bind and enure to the benefit of both parties and their respective successors, heirs, executors, administrators, personal representatives and permitted assigns.

If any part of these Terms and Conditions of Use is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that part will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

Ontario Health atHome seeks to make the Ontario Health atHome Website as accessible as possible. If you have any problems accessing the Ontario Health atHome Website or the Materials contained on it, please contact us at Contact Us.

COMPLAINT REVIEW PROCESS

If you have a complaint about any content on the Ontario Health atHome Website including any service profile, please first contact the agency of the service profile. If you still feel that the service profile contains inaccurate, false, misleading or inappropriate content, contact Contact Us.

Upon receiving your complaint, Ontario Health atHome will use reasonable efforts to review the content that you believe to be false, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate and will endeavor to respond to you within one week's time. As part of Ontario Health atHome's review and at its discretion, Ontario Health atHome may contact the service provider and will use reasonable efforts to resolve the reason for the complaint and contact you regarding any new information and any steps that may be taken.

CONTACT

If you have any questions or need to contact us, please reach out to Contact Us.

Part B - Additional Requirements When You Submit Content to Ontario Health atHome via the Ontario Health atHome Website

REGISTRATION OBLIGATION - SUBMITTING CONTENT

If you choose to submit content to Ontario Health atHome through the Ontario Health atHome Website, including updates to your existing service profile, suggestions for a new service, sending Ontario Health atHome news, events or job postings, you agree to: (i) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself; and (ii) maintain and promptly update information about yourself to keep it true, accurate, current and complete.

You represent and warrant that any content you supply to us is and shall be your own original work and has been lawfully provided to us and that you have all necessary permissions and consents to provide this to us and that we shall be entitled to disclose your name with any such content that we may choose to publish.

You agree that in consideration of thehealthline.ca Information Network hosting the Ontario Health atHome Website which may include your content, along with the covenants and promises herein and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt of which you acknowledge, that you grant to Ontario Health atHome and the Government of Ontario, a perpetual, world-wide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, transferable, royalty free, fully paid up right and licence: (a) to use, modify, reproduce and distribute, in any form, your content; (b) to authorize other persons, including agents, contractors or subcontractors of Ontario Health atHome to do any of the former on behalf of Ontario Health atHome, and (c) to make your content publicly available in any form or format, medium or method, to any person or entity for their personal, non-commercial use subject to these Terms and Conditions of Use.

Any Personal Information you supply with the content will be subject to our Privacy Statement.

Without limiting anything in these Terms and Conditions of Use, Ontario Health atHome may, in its sole discretion change or de-list, temporarily or permanently, your listing or content on the Ontario Health atHome Website, in whole or in part, at any time and may notify any third party of such action including law enforcement, for any reason, without liability to Ontario Health atHome and without notice to you or any other person.

USER NAMES AND PASSWORDS

Some features of the Ontario Health atHome Website may be accessed only by use of a login name and password. You are solely responsible and liable for any use and misuse of your login name and password and for all activities that occur under your login name and password. For security reasons, you must keep your login name and password confidential and not disclose them to any person or permit any other person to use them, except an authorized Ontario Health atHome representative.

All login names and passwords remain the property of Ontario Health atHome, and may be cancelled or suspended at any time by Ontario Health atHome without any notice or liability to you or any other person. Ontario Health atHome is not under any obligation to verify the actual identity or authority of the user of any login name or password.

You must immediately notify Ontario Health atHome of any unauthorized use of your login name or password, or if you know or suspect that your login name or password has been lost or stolen, has become known to any other person, or has been otherwise compromised.

Find services in other areas

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.