Statement from William Osler Health System

At William Osler Health System (Osler), we are deeply committed to delivering high quality, people-centred, compassionate, and culturally safe care.

Recently, we failed to uphold religious and cultural care practices when a Sikh patient’s beard was shaved without consent and without medical necessity. We take full responsibility for this incident and have extended our deepest apologies to the patient and his family. We also want to extend our apology to the Sikh community and the exceptional culturally diverse community that we serve. The distress this incident has caused the patient, the patient’s family, and the wider Sikh community – including our own workforce – has profoundly affected us as an organization and beyond.

Although we can’t go back and undo what has been done, we are committed to learning from this and making changes to help prevent this from happening again. As part of this commitment and with support from our Board of Directors, we have completed a thorough investigation guided by the family, community leaders, and hospital staff. We extend our sincere gratitude to the patient’s family and to the World Sikh Organization of Canada for their leadership and willingness to collaborate with us on this important work. It is critical that all voices are heard, respected, and acted upon.

To ensure we consistently honour religious and cultural practices and provide the best possible care experience for patients and their families, we are taking additional actions at our hospitals that build on our existing practices, protocols and policies and include focused workforce education on cultural safety and humility. These changes will strengthen our dedication towards asking about, listening to and integrating patients’ values, beliefs, and goals in every aspect of their health care – upholding our corporate value of Respect, and our foundational commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.

The Sikh community is an integral part of our region’s vibrant diversity, and we hold deep respect for its religious and cultural practices, as well as other religious, cultural and traditional practices within this region and beyond. We are grateful for the valuable contributions the Sikh community has made to Osler in so many ways. We also value the dedication of all of our staff, physicians, volunteers and learners, many of whom are proud members of the Sikh community and vital members of Osler’s team.

We remain fully committed to strengthening the trust of our communities by upholding the deeply-held religious rights and dignity of all patients, in every interaction.

-Dr. Frank Martino, President and CEO, William Osler Health System and Pardeep Singh Gill, Board Chair and Treasurer, William Osler Health System