Eric Hoskins says he is “deeply concerned” that legislation doesn’t compel mandatory reporting of medical practitioners who sexually abuse patients.
RICK MADONIK
/ TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
The Star has revealed that a Mississauga family doctor was
disciplined for professional misconduct by the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ontario last summer after he admitted to sexually abusing
female patients. He was suspended for eight months, but the college
won't say whether it has reported the case to police.
Ontario’s health
minister, Dr. Eric Hoskins, is ordering a review of a controversial
piece of legislation that gives medical regulatory bodies discretion on
whether to alert police when one of their members may have committed a
crime.
Critics have been
calling for mandatory reporting to authorities. The review of the
decades-old legislation will involve all 23 of the province’s regulatory
colleges.
A Star investigation
found two Mississauga health practitioners disciplined for professional
misconduct after admitting to sexually abusing patients were not
reported by colleges to police. One psychologist was later charged with
multiple counts of sexual assault after a victim, not the college, came
forward.
“I’m deeply concerned
about the things I’ve heard, including what the Star has brought to our
attention,” Hoskins said Thursday. “It’s been brought to my attention
that there are some things we may need to change.”
The Star revealed Ontario’s practices differ from those of medical regulators in Alberta and some American states, which must by law report to authorities when a doctor is suspected of committing a criminal offence.
After the Star highlighted the two recent cases, experts have argued the province’s Regulated Health Professions Act, which governs all the medical regulatory bodies across Ontario, protects physicians before patients.
Dr. Sastri Maharajh, a family physician, was disciplined for professional misconduct
by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario last summer. He
admitted to either resting his cheek on or placing his mouth on the
breasts of as many as 13 female patients. He was suspended for eight
months and can now practise on male patients only.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/10/ontario_health_minister_to_review_secrecy_involving_doctors.html
Source: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/10/ontario_health_minister_to_review_secrecy_involving_doctors.html
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