Boards in Alberta, various American states would have had to report Mississauga doctor who sexually abused female patients to authorities
LUCAS OLENIUK
/ TORONTO STAR
Order this photo
A sign posted at the office of Dr. Sastri Maharajh informs visitors that he is no longer permitted to see female patients.
If a Mississauga doctor had been practising in Alberta when he put his mouth or cheek on the breasts of more than 10 female patients, the province’s medical regulator would have had to report it to the minister of justice and the solicitor general.
Had he been working in
some American states, medical regulators would be required to notify
authorities that one of their members may have committed a crime.
But in Ontario, the
decision to go to the police about Dr. Sastri Maharajh, who told
regulators he had put his mouth on or rested his cheek against the
breasts of as many as 13 patients, is at the discretion of the medical
regulator.
Kathryn Clarke,
spokeswoman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, won’t
say if the collage has contacted police about Maharajh, who was
disciplined for professional misconduct by the medical regulator last
summer.
Peel police said they would launch an investigation if the college lodged a complaint. Maharajh’s name was not in their records as of Tuesday.
Maharajh was found
guilty of professional misconduct and suspended for eight months before
returning to work in July, ordered to treat male patients only at a
Mississauga walk-in clinic.
His case has raised
questions about whether Ontario’s decades-old Regulated Health
Professions Act should be updated to compel the college to contact
police if it knows about potential criminal behaviour.
Ontario Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins said the legislation will not be reviewed
despite criticism from experts, including NDP health critic France
Gélinas, who said the college should “absolutely” be mandated to contact
police in instances of sexual abuse.
Deliberately touching a
woman’s breast without consent is sexual assault, no matter if it
happens in a doctor’s office or on the street, said Toronto lawyer Peter
Rosenthal, adding it’s a criminal offence.
Still, few provincial
and state medical regulators must by law report a doctor suspected of
committing a criminal offence to police.
Alberta’s Health
Professions Act compels the province’s College of Physicians and
Surgeons hearing tribunals to send a copy of the written decision to the
justice minister and solicitor general if there are reasonable grounds
to believe the doctor has committed a criminal offence. The minister
then decides if the case should be turned over to police.
Texas, Iowa and Nevada
medical regulators are governed by a state law ordering board members,
employees and agents to report to police any information found while
investigating a physician that suggests a crime may have been committed.
Jarrett Schneider,
communications officer for the Texas Medical Board, said there must be
substantial evidence to merit bringing the information to police, but
co-ordinating with authorities usually begins early in a preliminary
investigation.
Reporting criminal offences is in line with the board’s directive to maintain public safety, Schneider said.
“The board’s mission is first and foremost to protect the public, so (the legislation) strikes to the core of that.”
Other medical
regulators have an internal mandate to always contact police if
investigators believe a doctor may have committed a crime.
Duane Houdek,
executive secretary of the North Dakota Board of Medical Examiners, said
although state laws don’t stipulate mandatory reporting to police, the
board chooses to do so.
“If it’s a crime against society, it’s something that shouldn’t be shielded by confidentiality laws.”
Laura Armstrong can be reached at 416-869-4068 or lauraarmstrong@thestar.ca .
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/01/provincial_state_medical_regulators_must_report_doctors_to_police.html
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/01/provincial_state_medical_regulators_must_report_doctors_to_police.html
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments.
Canadian Insurance News does not endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that we have the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever.