Former Halifax psychiatrist charged with child pornography offence

Vis the Global News

A former psychiatrist in Halifax is facing a child pornography charge in relation to a case that’s more than a decade old.

Dr. Curtis Steele, 82, was charged with making child pornography after police launched an investigation last year to look into claims he had taken naked pictures of a 14-year-old female patient.

Steele was arrested on Thursday after he turned himself in at the police station.

He was released under conditions and will appear in court on June 16.

Enyinnaya Ezema, Canadian (formerly UK) Psychiatrist, charged with assault, loses license

According to CBC News

Dr. Enyinnaya Ezema has been charged with assault stemming from an incident on Dec. 16, said Const. Ken MacDonald of the New Glasgow Regional Police. The police responded to a call at an outpatient facility on East River Road in New Glasgow. The incident did not take place at the Aberdeen Hospital, MacDonald said.

As of April 21, Ezema is no longer licensed to practise medicine in the province. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia said Ezema cannot practise because he had a licence that was conditional on the support of a sponsor. Dr. Gus Grant, the registrar and CEO of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, said earlier this week that Ezema’s sponsor withdrew the sponsorship. The college does not know why the sponsor withdrew, said Grant.

Legislation says the sponsor is “usually a senior physician, typically, the head of a department or chief of staff,” said Grant.

“It’s a decision entirely for the sponsor to make,” he continued. “In fact, this is a question that’s been assessed in our courts and it’s well established that a decision with respect to sponsorship resides with the individual sponsor.” Before the assault charge was revealed, CBC News contacted the Nova Scotia Health Authority in Pictou for information about why Ezema was no longer practising. They declined an interview. “The Nova Scotia Health Authority is not commenting on this suspension nor can we discuss the reasons for it,” said Eileen MacIsaac.

Ezema is due in Pictou provincial court on May 19.

The psychiatrist came to Pictou County from the United Kingdom and started his psychiatry practice in December 2012, according to a release from the local health authority at the time.

"Psychiatry has destroyed my life"

A 4 part series in the Canada Free Press about the devastating effect of the Marketing of Abilify

Part 1: “Psychiatry has destroyed my life”
Part 2: A medicinal lobotomy
Part 3: “Works like a thermostat”
Part 4: “Chemically lobotomized”

Snippet from the series

“Psychiatry has destroyed my life in so many ways.”

So says Jarrett, a young man from Orange County, who for the past three and half years has been taking a cocktail of various psychiatric medications, including America’s best-selling drug, Abilify.

Less than four years ago Jarrett was a newly minted university graduate with a bright future ahead of him. But he hit a bit of a rough patch. Discouraged by his failure to find a job, he went into counseling, which dredged up some painful memories he now believes would have been better left alone. He confronted his father one night with some old hurts, in his own recollection tearful and angry and out of control, and his father called the police. Jarrett was taken away in handcuffs to a mental hospital, where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed Risperdal and BuSpar.

Jarrett was subsequently released but found his depression worsening. He checked himself back into the mental hospital, and this time he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed on BuSpar, Seroquel, Geodon, and Celexa. Shortly after his release, he attempted suicide (he says he had never experienced suicidal ideation or behavior before starting psych meds) and was hospitalized for the third time. This time his doctor doubled the dose of Seroquel, replaced the Celexa with Lexapro, and added Depakote and Cogentin. He also discontinued the Geodon and, at Jarrett’s request, prescribed a new drug Jarrett had learned about from watching television.

“It was that cartoon commercial with the woman who says her antidepressant isn’t working,” Jarrett recalls. “She went to her doctor and her doctor said there’s a medication you can take with your antidepressant that can really help.”

And that was how Jarrett became one of untold thousands who succumbed to the siren call of the advertising copywriter to “Add Abilify.”

Are pharmacists turning into salespeople? Internal company emails show push on pharmacists to keep ‘driving those numbers’

From an extensive report on CBC. While it is a general article, it is interesting to see how big pharmacy chains are transforming into your local corner drug pusher. worth reading.

Internal emails from top Canadian chain drugstores show the pressures that pharmacists say they get from companies to push billable services in order to boost revenue. The emails were shared with CBC’s Marketplace by pharmacists who are speaking out about increasing business pressures to perform extra services that can be billed to patients or to provincial governments. These services include medication reviews, flu shots, smoking cessation programs and food intolerance testing kits.

“I think as a pharmacist, it’s embarrassing,” Derek Jorgenson, a pharmacist and professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, told Marketplace co-host Erica Johnson. “I think it makes you feel like you're not a health professional. It makes you feel like a door-to-door salesman or a used car salesman,” he said. “We as pharmacists didn't go into this profession to do that.”

[...]

The pharmacists approached Marketplace after the initial investigation to show how corporate pressures negatively affect their work.

“What we're becoming is salesmen,” one former Rexall pharmacist told Marketplace. Marketplace agreed to protect the identity of the pharmacists who spoke out because they fear retribution in the industry. “They want us to sell med checks, flu shots, Hemocode tests, A1C tests, things that don't cost the store anything, but make money for the store,” she said. The pharmacists shared internal emails from management that discuss daily targets for medication reviews.

Prashant Tiwari's family files $12.5M lawsuit after suicide in Brampton, Ontario hospital

As reported by the CBC

Many more details at the link

Members of a Brampton, Ont., family have launched a $12.5-million lawsuit after a 20-year-old man was found dead in the bathroom of the hospital where he was supposed to be on suicide watch.

Prashant Tiwari committed suicide last June at Brampton Civic Hospital while under treatment, the lawsuit alleges, adding he had been admitted to the psychiatric ward after he had started cutting himself.

Rakesh Tiwari alleges his son was left unattended in a hospital bathroom for three hours. During that time, the 20-year-old used his hospital gown and a chair to hang himself, his father said.

"He volunteered himself to the hospital. He knew he had some problem, and he was fighting and he needed help," said Rakesh Tiwari.

"He was not to die."

Tiwari believes staff were supposed to check on his son every 15 minutes.

"My son should not have been unattended," he said.

A lengthy statement of claim — filed at Brampton's Superior Court of Justice on Wednesday — names the hospital and numerous employees as defendants, and lays out a timeline of what happened to Prashant Tiwari in the hospital.

[...]

After his death, the statement of claim alleges, 12 people accessed Prashant’s medical records without proper authorization for unknown reasons.

[...]

"They said if I kept making noise, they would drag me into the mental-health ward and diagnose me as having mental illness."

As reported by the CBC, with much more including a video report and documentation at the link

You can also see the video here

Another case of a person being diagnosed as mentally ill for the convenience of the doctors, not to help the patient. Apparently they wanted to put here on anti-psychotics to shut her up.

Alice Zhang says she's being denied a life-saving kidney transplant because doctors at Vancouver General Hospital have decided she is mentally ill.

The 45-year-old mother of two, who speaks only Cantonese, and her family say she has no history of mental illness, and that she was only removed from the transplant list for complaining about her treatment in the hemodialysis unit.

"That's what started this whole situation" Zhang, speaking through an interpreter, told CBC Investigates.

She said doctors threatened to admit her involuntarily under the Mental Health Act.

"They said if I kept making noise, they would drag me into the mental-health ward and diagnose me as having mental illness."

Zhang said that is where she ended up on two occasions.

Polycystic kidney disease

Zhang has polycystic kidney disease. She shares custody of her boys, aged nine and 11 years old.

She needs hemodialysis three times a week, and has been on the kidney transplant list since 2009.

She said a sudden diagnosis of delusional disorder came right after she filed written complaints that nurses were too rough on her injection site.

"They said, 'Right now, we are going to temporarily stop the transplant process,'" said Zhang. Hospital documents confirm that the process was halted.

"Because I complained about them, they said that to me."

According to a psychiatrist’s handwritten notes, Zhang was paranoid.

Difficult but not delusional, says family

Zhang's husband, from whom she is separated, believes doctors are misinterpreting her actions.

"If they don't even understand what she's saying, how can they say she has a mental illness?" said Lea Kwong Chow.

"This person doesn't really have great social skills. Just because of that, you can't say they have a mental illness."

Chow said that in the nearly 20 years he has known Zhang, she has never shown any signs of paranoia.

While a translator attends most appointments, Chow and Zhang said there are many informal interactions without one.

In October, the psychiatrist's handwritten note to Zhang raised concern that she was following a nurse.

"You were asking about her last name. This was interpreted as concerning behaviour," the note said.

The notes show Zhang tried to explain she had been asked to find out the nurse's last name by her lawyer, something he confirmed in a letter to Vancouver Coastal Health.

The same psychiatrist wrote, "The fact that you believe that the nurses are trying to harm you tells me that you have a mental illness ... the nurses are starting to feel threatened by you. Some of this has to do with your complaints about them."

But Zhang — who refused to take prescribed anti-psychotic drugs — said she has never said anyone tried to hurt her on purpose.

"I have never been the suspicious type," she said. "I believe they have violated my human rights."

Smoking Cessation Drug Suspected in 30 Suicides in Canada

From a Report in the Vancouver Sun

Champix is suspected of playing a major role in the deaths of 44 patients — 30 of them by suicide — since the popular stop-smoking drug was approved in Canada in 2007, a Vancouver Sun investigation has found.

The Pfizer drug has also been linked to more than 1,300 incidents of suicide attempts or thoughts, depression, and aggression/anger across the country in the past seven years.

The drug is the most popular of those offered by B.C.’s quit smoking program, which traditionally sees a jump in participation every January as people renew new year’s resolutions to butt out.

Numbers on the deaths and other side-effects come from a Health Canada database where doctors, pharmacists and drug companies report bad side-effects experienced by patients taking pharmaceuticals.

But Health Canada admits on its website that side-effects are under-reported, and experts say the database could represent as little as one per cent of the patients who suffer complications.

“A small proportion of the adverse reactions that have occurred on this drug in Canada would be in the adverse reaction database. Essentially it is spontaneous, voluntary reporting,” said Barbara Mintzes, a pharmaceutical drug expert at the University of B.C.

Even the incomplete numbers, though, are a concern, she said. When someone taking an anti-depressant attempts suicide, it’s initially not clear whether that’s caused by the pre-existing depression or the drug; but in the case of Champix, people are taking the drug to stop smoking — not for a mental health condition.

“You are looking at a lot of deaths, suicides and attempted suicides, and suicidal ideation in a population that you would have no reason to think would be otherwise at high risk of suicide,” said Mintzes, an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine’s School of Population and Public Health.

The Sun downloaded data from the Health Canada site for Champix and Zyban, the two drugs covered by Pharmacare as part of the province’s Smoking Cessation program.

Champix is the subject of a class-action lawsuit, which more than 200 Canadians have joined, alleging psychiatric side-effects. One of the plaintiffs is the mother of a B.C. woman who killed herself while she was on the drug.

In recent years, Champix has been slapped with the toughest safety warnings in the U.S. and Canada, and France stopped covering the drug through its public Pharmacare system.

Much more information at the lihnk

Psychiatrist Claudio de Novaes Soares faces hearing for sex abuse allegations

As reported by the CBC News

A Hamilton psychiatrist has a disciplinary hearing with the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons two years after allegations emerged that he sexually abused a female patient.

Dr. Claudio de Novaes Soares has not be licensed to practice medicine in Ontario since Sept. 1, 2012, around the same time he was set to take a high profile post at the University of Alberta as the head of the psychiatry program there.

Soares resigned his position with UofA around Sept. 24, two weeks after CBC News revealed allegations that he had sexual relations with a female patient while he was practicing at a Hamilton office affiliated with McMaster University.

A document outlining Soares’s disciplinary hearing at the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons alleges that between Nov. 2007 to May 2009 he made sexual remarks toward the female patient — referred to only as Patient A — and also engaged in fellatio and had sex with the woman.

“This behaviour constituted sexual abuse of Patient A by Dr. Soares and/or disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct by Dr. Soares,” the document alleges.

The document also alleges Soares has “failed to co-operate” with an investigator assigned to his case.

He’s also accused of being “engaged in an act or omission relevant to the practice of medicine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.”

Soares is set to appear at a series of disciplinary hearings in Toronto from Jan. 12-16 and Jan. 26-30, most of which will likely run throughout the entire day.

If the College’s discipline panel finds the accusations against Soares to be true, he may be reprimanded, fined up to $35,000 and his certificate of registration may be revoked.

While at McMaster, Soares was the associate chair of research in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences. He was also director of the Women's Health Concerns Clinic.

Psychiatric patient awarded $40,000 after sexual assault at Seven Oaks Hospital in Manitoba

From this report from CBC news

A former unit clerk at Seven Oaks Hospital has been ordered to pay a patient $40,000 in damages after an investigation found the clerk sexually interfered with her.

According to court documents, in December of 2010 the woman, who is now 42, had a panic attack and was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Seven Oaks. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was being treated for anxiety, depression and alcoholism.

Within days of being admitted, she loaned a DVD to a male unit clerk. The man returned the DVD to her with his number enclosed. She says he openly read her medical files and another patient told her she thought the clerk was flirting with her.

A few days later, the clerk smuggled a cell phone onto the ward for the woman. A statement filed by the woman claims he began texting her sexually provocative messages. He also told her that he loved her and would "always be there for her."

On one occasion he followed her into her room and they kissed. They also met in his vehicle parked outside the hospital for a rendezvous. She applied for a day pass and he drove her to a liquor store and a hotel. Once inside a rented room, they drank large amounts of alcohol and had sex. The next weekend she applied for another pass and they checked in to a CanadInns Hotel and drank large amounts of alcohol.

The following Monday, the patient checked herself out of hospital and the unit clerk stopped texting her and returning her calls. On December 24th, she received a phone call from the man's common-law wife asking her to stop contacting him. The woman says she didn't know the clerk had a partner.

As the woman's condition improved, she realized what had happened and believed her judgment was impaired and the clerk took advantage of her.

A provincial investigation report filed in November of 2011 found that the patient was vulnerable at the time of admission to the facility. It states: "There is evidence that the patient was subjected to sexual abuse by the respondent who was a staff member during her hospitalization and that this abuse caused the patient harm."

The investigation report directs Seven Oaks to "develop and implement an educational strategy for professional boundaries and include all direct care staff who work with psychiatric patients."

Since the incident the woman says she has had bouts of anxiety and depression, suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and had suicidal thoughts. She also says she is now afraid of being admitted to hospital.

Lawyers for the woman have entered into an agreement with Seven Oaks to discontinue the claim against the hospital citing the hospital had minimal liability.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) and Seven Oaks Hospital "take the safety and security of its patients very seriously, and are aware of the case."

In a statement the WRHA said when the hospital was alerted by the patient, "Seven Oaks acted immediately by suspending the employee and notifying the Protection for Persons in Care Office (PPCO). Seven Oaks also conducted an investigation which resulted in the employee immediately being placed on leave as of February 16, 2011. As well, the hospital took steps to provide additional training and awareness to program staff about the importance and legal requirement to observe professional boundaries. This training is mandatory and provided annually."

Family of man who harmed himself to appeal in malpractice suit against the Vancouver Island Health Authority, an emergency-room physician and psychiatric nurse.

From a report in the Times Colonist

An appeal has been filed by a man and his family who lost a malpractice lawsuit against the Vancouver Island Health Authority, an emergency-room physician and psychiatric nurse.

Joseph Briante, represented by his mother, Carol Briante, had filed the malpractice suit alleging that a psychiatric nurse and emergency-room doctor who saw Briante failed in their psychiatric assessment and treatment.

Briante was a lawyer whose life began to spiral downward in the summer of 2007. By October, his mental health was deteriorating rapidly.

On Oct. 29, 2007, he became delusional and paranoid, and feared being monitored, sacrificed or killed, his family said in court documents.

His family rushed him to Royal Jubilee Hospital’s psychiatric emergency service. They arrived at 4:50 p.m. and Briante told the triage nurse he felt as if he was having a nervous breakdown.

Briante was discharged at 7:30 that night without seeing the on-call psychiatrist. He was referred to outpatient counselling. In a psychotic state six days later, he slashed and stabbed himself in the neck and arm with a knife, resulting in severe blood loss and cognitive impairment. He is now unable to live independently.

[...]

Briante’s family — mother Carol, father James and brother-in-law Carter Hovey — have asked the court of appeal to find that the negligence was the cause of Briante’s injuries and therefore the cause of the expense of caring for Briante and the harm the family endured.

That harm includes the psychological injury and trauma Briante’s family members experienced when the father and Hovey tried to hold him down while his mother attempted to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Medical Licensing Boards in Canada: Information on filing complaints against psychiatrists in Canada

Here is a list of Medical Licensing Boards in the Canada, given alphabetically by Province. This information may be useful if you want to file a complaint against your local psychiatrist.

This is contact information for provincial agencies in Canada responsible for the licensure and certification of psychiatrists throughout Canada listed in alphabetical order below. Other additional links and information are provided.

Please note that while we think this information is correct, that names, telephone numbers, and other information may have changed.

As found at this webpage on the website of the Canadian Psychiatric Association

---

I want to make a complaint about my psychiatrist's conduct. Who should I contact? Contact your provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons or Medical Board for further information on the complaints process governing physicians in your province. Complaints must usually be made in writing. The following is a brief description of how to lodge a complaint, the contact information for the appropriate body and the link to further electronic information.

To lodge a complaint in Alberta, mail in a completed, signed Complaint Reporting Form or letter of complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta. The contact information for the Alberta College is:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta
2700 - 10020 100 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta, T5J 0N3
Phone: 780-423-4764
Fax: 780-420-0651
General Public Inquires: 1-800-561-3899
Complaints Line: 1-800-661-4689 (in Alberta)
College Patient Advocate: 780-423-4764 or 1-800-661-4689
For more information on the complaints process in Alberta click here.

In British Columbia, complete a complaint form or write a letter including your name, date of birth, address and telephone number, the name and address of the doctor involved, a description of the incident in as much detail as possible, the date of the incident and your signature. Complaints are not accepted by e-mail and they must be signed and submitted in writing either by mail or fax. Send complaints to:

The Registrar
College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia
400-585 Beatty St.
Vancouver BC V6B 1C1
For more information on the complaints process in British Columbia click here.

In Manitoba, complaints must be made in writing and signed. A letter to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba should include your name, address, telephone number(s), Personal Health Identification Number (from your Manitoba Health card), the name of physician(s) being complained about, the date(s) of service, the name and address of other caregivers from whom information should be obtained (for example, other physicians, nurses, physiotherapists or dentists), the name of hospital(s), dates seen, and a clear description of the complaint about the physician(s). Mail or fax your letter to:

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
Attn: The Complaints Department
1000-1661 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3J 3T7
Fax: 204-774-0750
For more information, click here.

In New Brunswick, complaints must be submitted in writing to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick. Mail or fax your complaint to:

Registrar
c/o College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick
1 Hampton St, Suite 300
Rothesay, NB E2E 5K8
Tel: (506) 849-5050 ou 1-800-667-4641
Fax: (506) 849-5069
For more complete information on the complaints process, click here.

In Newfoundland, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador accept complaints in writing. Letters of complaint should be sent to:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador
139 Water Street, Suite 603
Saint John's, NF A1C 1B2
Tel: 709-726-8546
1-800-563-8546 (Toll Free from outside St. John's)
Fax: 709-726-4725
For more information on the complaints process in Newfoundland and Labrador click here.

The President of the Medical Board of Inquiry is responsible for investigating written complaints about physicians in the Northwest Territories and can be contacted at:

President of the Medical Board of Inquiry
2025 Palermo Way SW
Calgary AB T2V 5J6
Phone: (403) 281-7122
Fax: (403) 281-7124

In Nova Scotia, complaints must be made in writing. Complaint forms are available on the College website. Although the form is recommended, you may file a complaint without using the form provided your letter is typed or legibly written and signed. A signed consent form is also required before the complaint can be investigated. The complaint should contain the doctor's name, a description of the events that led to the complaint (such as the date and location) and any other information that may aid the College in its investigation. You may wish to add the names of people who witnessed the events or who have useful information. The College contact information is:

Investigations Department
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
Suite 5005 - 7071 Bayers Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3L 2C2
Tel: 902-422-5823 or Toll-free in Nova Scotia 1 877-282-7767
Investigations Department Fax: 902-422-5271
For more information on the complaints procedure, click here.

To obtain information about the complaints process in Nunavut, contact the
Department of Health and Social Services at:

Government of Nunavut
Registrar, Professional Licensing
2nd Floor, NCC Building
Box 390
Kugluktuk NU X0B 0E0
Telephone: 867-982-7672
Fax: 867-982-3256 or 867-982-7640
E-mail: bvandenassem@gov.nu.ca

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario accepts complaints either in writing or in other permanent form (such as a tape, film or disk). Complaints may be e-mailed to the College but confidentiality cannot be guaranteed when using this method. All correspondence sent from the College in response to an e-mail complaint will be sent by regular mail to preserve confidentiality. The College's web site also offers an online complaint form. The contact information for the College is:

The Registrar
c/o Investigations and Resolutions Department
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
80 College Street
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E2
Tel: 416-967-2603 or 1-800-268-7096 ext. 603.
E-mail: investigations&resolutions@cpso.on.ca
For more information on the complaints process in Ontario click here.

To initiate a complaint in Prince Edward Island you must submit a letter detailing the complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of PEI and send it to:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of PEI
199 Grafton Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 1L2
Fax: 902-566-3986
For further information on the complaints process click here.

In Quebec, you can request an investigation into the professional conduct of your physician by completing and sending a investigation request form to the Direction des enquêtes du Collège des médecins du Québec:

Direction des enquêtes
Collège des médecins du Québec
2170, boulevard René Levesque Ouest
Montréal (Québec) H3H 2T8
Fax: 514-933-2291
Tel: 514-933-4441 Toll free (from outside Montreal): 1-888-MÉDECIN
For more detailed information on complaints procedures click here.

In Saskatchewan, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan accepts complaints in writing. A complaint reporting form is available online. The contact information for the College is:

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan
500-321A-21st Street East
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7K 0C1
1-800-667-1668 (Complaints Toll Free Number)
Fax: 306-244-0090 (general) or 306-244-2600 (Registrar)
For more information on the complaints process in Saskatchewan click here.

In the Yukon, letters of complaint must be made in writing and accompanied by a Consent to Release Information form. Complaints should be directed to:

Yukon Medical Council
c/o Registrar of Medical Practitioners
Box 2703 C-18
Whitehorse YT Y1A 2C6
Telephone: 867-667-3774
Fax: 867-393-6483

More information on the complaints process is available on the Yukon Medical Council website.

Canadian Psychology Licensing Boards by Province (late 2014)

Here is a list of Psychology Licensing Boards in the Canada, given Alphabetically by Province 

This is contact information for provincial agencies in Canada responsible for the licensure and certification of psychologists throughout Canada listed in alphabetical order below. Other additional links are provided.

Please note that while we think this information is correct, that names and telephone numbers may have changed. This information may be useful if you want to file a complaint against your local psychologist. 

ALBERTA
The College of Alberta Psychologists
Address
2100 Sunlife Place
10123 - 99th Street

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3H1

Phone 

(780) 424-5070

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

BRITISH COLUMBIA
College of Psychologists of British Columbia
Address
404 - 1755 W Broadway

Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 4S5

Phone 

(604) 736-6164

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

MANITOBA
Psychological Association of Manitoba
Address
162-2025 Corydon Ave., #253

Winnipeg, Manitoba R3P 0N5

Phone 

(204) 487-0784

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

NEW BRUNSWICK
College of Psychologists of New Brunswick
Address
236 St. George Street
Suite 219

Moncton, New Brunswick E1C 1W1

Phone 

(506) 382-1994

Main Page
Verify a License

NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR
Newfoundland & Labrador Psychology Board
Address
NLPB, Suite 303, Carnell Building
P. O. Box 8275

St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador A1B 3N4

Phone 

(709) 579-6313

Main Page
Verify a License

NOVA SCOTIA
Nova Scotia Board of Examiners in Psychology
Address
The Halifax Professional Centre
455 - 5991 Spring Garden Road

Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 1Y6

Phone 

(902) 423-2238

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

ONTARIO
College of Psychologists of Ontario
Address
110 Eglinton Avenue West, Suite 500

Toronto, Ontario M4R 1A3

Phone 

(416) 961-8817

Main Page
Verify a License

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Prince Edward Island Psychologists Regulation Board
Address
Univ. of Prince Edward Island, Psych. Dept.
550 University Avenue

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island C1A 4P3

Phone 

(902) 566-0549

Main Page
Verify a License
Law

Rules & Regulations

QUEBEC
Ordre des psychologists du Quebec
Address
1100 Beaumont AvenueSuite 510

Mount Royal, Quebec H3P 3H5

Phone 

(514) 738-1881

Main Page
Verify a License

SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatchewan College of Psychologists
Address
1026 Winnipeg Street

Regina, Saskatchewan S4R 8P8

Phone 

(306) 352-1699

Main Page
Verify a License

Psychiatrist hired as chair at University of Alberta resigns amid sex scandal

As reported in the Star

A psychiatrist facing an allegation that he had sex with a patient in Ontario has resigned from his new job as department chair at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Claudio Soares was hired to head up the university’s psychiatry department effective Sept. 1, but was placed on leave before he could start.

The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons is investigating a charge of professional misconduct against him. It’s alleged that Soares had a sexual relationship with a female patient between November 2007 and May 2009.

At the time, he was a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and also director of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic, which is affiliated with the school.

Jo-anne Nugent, a spokeswoman at the University of Alberta, said she couldn’t confirm when staff officially hired Soares or when they found out about the allegation against him.

The university’s website says he visited the Edmonton campus several times as a candidate for the job and made research presentations as early as January.

Nugent said Soares was placed on leave the same day he was to start as chair. And on Monday he “resigned effective immediately.”

Nugent wouldn’t say whether the university plans to review its hiring procedures.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario issued a hearing notice about Soares on July 11. On Aug. 7, it sent a public notification to other provinces informing them that Soares was not to be left alone with female patients during its investigation.

Documents also allege that Soares failed to fully co-operate with an investigator from the college.

College spokeswoman Kathryn Clarke said Soares no longer has a licence to practise in Ontario. His certificate of registration expired on Sept. 1 when his academic appointment ended at McMaster.

“Despite the fact that he is no longer licensed, the referral to discipline remains in effect because we have continuing jurisdiction for professional misconduct or incompetence.”

She said it may take a couple of months before a hearing date is set.

Kelly Eby, a spokeswoman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Alberta, said it’s not known if Soares had applied to practise in the province, but he is not currently listed as having a licence or permit.

She said Soares didn’t necessarily need one. If his job as chair at the University of Alberta were strictly administrative, a permit would not have been required.

Update: The Prosecution of Psychiatrist Dr. Alan Beitel

We have an update on the prosecution of psychiatrist Allan Beitel. Essentially, the charges were dropped for a number of practical reasons as seen in the article below.

1. He wasn't going to get anymore jail time than what he had already served while waiting for trial, and
2. the victim was moving out of the country, and would not be available to give testimony.

These circumstances are not a clean verdict such as acquittal, and leaves a cloud of suspicion over the doctor's head. This is also not a clean statement of innocence by the prosecutor, although the original charges were a little convoluted. The psychiatrist still faces other criminal charges, according to the report. As reported in The Hamilton Spectator.

Charges of accessing and possessing child pornography against a psychiatrist who formerly practised in Hamilton and Burlington have been stayed by the Crown.

Dr. Allan Beitel, who now practices in Toronto, had been facing the charges since 2003.

The Crown also stayed a charge of possession of stolen property and two counts of failing to comply against Beitel.

The Crown's prosecutor concluded that it was no longer in the public's interest to continue prosecution of the case, according to a spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General.

"Even if Dr. Beitel had been found guilty of all charges, it was unlikely that he would serve a single additional day in jail beyond the time he had already served in pre-trial custody," the spokes-person indicated.

"Given that completing the trial would have required significant amounts of additional court time and resources, the Crown concluded that it was not in the public interest to continue."

Beitel had spent a number of months in custody last year related to other charges.

A charge of sexual assault against Beitel has also been withdrawn by the Crown after concluding there was no longer a reasonable prospect of conviction.

"The victim was moving out of the country and would not be returning for the trial," the ministry spokesperson indicated.

Beitel is still facing a number of other charges, including perjury, fraud under $5,000, two counts of theft under $5,000 and six counts of fail to comply with a recognizance.

Beitel remains an active member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, with no past disciplinary findings against him.

UPDATE: see also this Blog Post by David Akin

Psychiatrist pays for misconduct

A report from the Hamilton Spectator, near Toronto, Canada

A Hamilton psychiatrist has been handed an expensive penalty after a disciplinary panel accepted his admission of professional misconduct.

Dr. Brian Kirsh, medical director of the chronic pain management unit for Hamilton Health Sciences at Chedoke Hospital, appeared before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario yesterday.

A friend of Kirsh's alleged in 2007 the doctor failed to indicate the friendly, rather than professional, nature of a meeting where the man and his wife sought marital advice.

The panellists said Kirsh had blurred professional boundaries and they expected he would not make the same mistake again.

He was told to pay the $3,650 hearing cost, to take a $1,200 professional boundaries course and to make results of the hearing public online.

Before coming to Hamilton in 2003, Kirsch ran a family medical practice in Thornhill. He was friends with the couple for 18 years. The wife asked if he would meet with her and her husband. All three were members of the same religious community, and Kirsh and the woman worked together in that community. They met at his Thornhill practice in March 2007.

Kirsh asked the woman for her OHIP card at the beginning of the meeting, during which he advised them to seek a professional marriage counsellor for the troubles in their relationship.

The woman later told the college she understood Kirsh met with them as a family friend. The man, however, thought it was as a professional.

The woman asked to meet with Kirsh again that year. The two met at his office, where Kirsh told her he had feelings for her. She told him she was ending her marriage for reasons unrelated to him. The couple separated soon after.

Before the husband filed his complaint, Kirsh e-mailed him to apologize for any confusion and said he had seen the couple in a "spirit of friendship."

An agreed statement of facts says Kirsh admits to professional misconduct by taking the woman's OHIP card before the first meeting, by seeing them in his former medical office and by failing to "communicate clearly (to the man) that he was not seeing the couple in his professional capacity."

Psychiatrist faces review in wake of massacre - Hearing to decide competency of Toronto doctor who treated man who killed his wife and children

As seen in the Globe and Mail. Edited for Space

The competency of a Toronto psychiatrist who was treating Chau Huc Minh at the time he massacred his family in 2006 is under scrutiny by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The College has scheduled a hearing to determine whether the psychiatrist - Dr. Hung-Tat Lo - is competent to continue practising in light of his actions in the Chau case and 15 other unspecified cases.

The main complaint behind the hearing appears to be one lodged last year by Mr. Chau's sister, Jenny Chu. Ms. Chu alleged that Dr. Lo refused her plea to have Mr. Chau sent to a hospital for an assessment and possible treatment on Jan. 6, 2006. Five weeks later - on Feb. 9, 2006 - Mr. Chau used a meat cleaver to inflict fatal injuries on his wife, Shao-Fang, his three-year-old daughter, Vivian, and his five-month-old baby, Ivan.

A CPSO document states that its disciplines committee will decide whether Dr. Lo "failed to maintain the standard of practice and is incompetent in his care and treatment - including, but not limited to - his assessments, diagnoses, treatment and record-keeping, of 15 patients whose identities have been made known to Dr. Lo, between about July, 1983, and July, 2007."

It said the probe will also consider whether Dr. Lo displayed "a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment or disregard for the welfare of his patients of a nature," to the point that his practice should be restricted or terminated.

In the meantime, Dr. Lo has been told to submit sample medical charts and other patient information at least once every two weeks to a doctor appointed by the College to monitor his work.

CPSO spokesman Jill Hefley said in an interview yesterday that a complaint is referred to a disciplines hearing only if there has been a determination that "reasonable and probable cause" exists to believe it may be well founded.

Ms. Chu complained that she told Dr. Lo that her brother's behaviour had grown alarmingly erratic. "I was concerned that he might hurt his two young kids and wife" she said in her complaint. "Therefore, I urged Dr. Lo to send him to hospital with detailed descriptions of his strange behaviour."

[...]

Upon leaving Dr. Lo's clinic that day - Jan. 6, 2006 - Ms. Chu claimed that she tried to coax her brother to go straight to the hospital. She said that Mr. Chau became furious, and said: "Even Dr. Lo said that I was okay. Why must you make me go to a hospital?"

Mr. Chau was found not criminally responsible in the killings earlier this week by a Toronto judge.

According to a transcript from Mr. Chau's 2007 preliminary hearing, Dr. Lo denied that Ms. Chu asked him to admit her brother to hospital at the Jan. 6, 2006, meeting. Dr. Lo acknowledged that he saw Mr. Chau for just 140 minutes during the 12 years that he treated him. However, Dr. Lo, who stated he sees 15-20 patients a day, said that he didn't see it as necessary to spend more time with Mr. Chau.

Dr. Lo's office was closed this week, and he did not return telephone messages.

Peter Lindsay, Mr. Chau's defence lawyer, expressed misgivings yesterday about the quality of care his client was given. "The compelling story here is that Dr. Lo sees him so little. If you do the math, he saw him for just over 11 minutes a year. I'm not a doctor, but I think that's far short of what he should be seeing this guy."

[...]

Other victim

Chau Huc Minh was not the first of psychiatrist Hung-Tat Lo's mentally ill patients to explode into violence.

In 2004, two years before Mr. Chau's killing rampage, a 36-year-old Chinese immigrant, Xuan Peng, drowned her four-year-old, autistic baby in a bathtub at her Scarborough home.

She had been under Dr. Lo's care at the time.

According to a 2005 bail ruling that freed Ms. Peng pending her first-degree murder trial, Dr. Lo was treating her for a bipolar disorder at the time that her daughter, Scarlett, drowned.

The presiding judge at the bail hearing was Ontario Superior Court Judge David McCombs.

He was persuaded to grant Ms. Peng bail partly based on testimony from Dr. Lo, who said that she was capable of being managed in the community and agreed to supervise her treatment.

[...]

Police arrested Ms. Peng seven months after Scarlett's death. Last March, she was found guilty of second-degree murder, notwithstanding her history of mental illness.

Ontario psychiatrist has license suspended over "management of boundary issues"

It sounds like the misconduct is described with sufficient mumbo jumbo and code words to obscure what really happened with this shrink. "Boundary Issues" seems to be a code that say that the shrink was getting way too friendly with the patient.Report from the Burlington Post

A local psychiatrist recently had his licence temporarily suspended.

On June 24, the discipline committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found that Dr. Howard Douglas Taynen, who has a downtown practice, "committed an act of professional misconduct, in that he failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession in relation to one patient in a number of respects, (i.e., his treatment selection of psychodynamic psychotherapy; failure to formally consult with an experienced psychotherapist regarding the management of this patient; management of boundary issues; and by assuming all aspects of this patient's care)."

The college's discipline committee ordered a public reprimand including a one-month suspension of Taynen's certificate of registration, starting July 1.

His licence will be further suspended for another month, starting Feb. 1, 2009, if he doesn't comply with orders by the college to successfully complete several professional development courses.

As well, the college ordered that Taynen pay $3,650 in legal costs to the college, that he set up an assessment of his practice, at his own expense, and abide by any recommendations coming from it, and that he not treat any patient identified as or diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Man sues hospital, mental health nurse

A report from the Toronto Metro News

t started with an innocent game of chess between a patient and his nurse. But it quickly evolved.

Soon, the pair were having sex all over the hospital — in his room, the staff lounge, examination room.

But their clandestine encounters went beyond the walls of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on Queen St. W. When permitted to leave the hospital for a few hours on a community pass, the good-looking 6-foot-3 patient met the woman at a nearby hotel.

Although she was married, their relationship lasted about two years and remained intact even after she was fired from CAMH — an incident he blamed himself for and, in an act of penance, jumped into oncoming traffic.

When she became pregnant last fall, he slipped into a depression, which again landed him in hospital.

It’s an unusual tale that has been pieced together from his clinical notes, a CAMH report and an $850,000 lawsuit recently filed in an Ontario Superior Court.

The patient, identified only as John, is suing CAMH and the nurse, identified as Jane. The court has banned publication of their names to protect the identity of the child.

“I just know that she messed my head up pretty good and that I’ve done things to myself that I never did before,” John told Torstar News Service.

According to the statement of claim, John alleges Jane was negligent in her treatment when she failed to discourage a social relationship, refused to respect professional boundaries and neglected to consider the harm that would result from violating them.

The hospital, it alleges, failed to arrange for appropriate supervision, inspection and monitoring of John at his home. Had they checked on him, John says, they would have discovered her lingerie, strewn about his apartment.

Psychiatrist reprimanded for misconduct

A report from the North Bay Nugget out of Ontario, Canada

A North Bay doctor has received a public reprimand for professional misconduct and was ordered to be monitored by a fellow physician for 30 months.

Dr. Darren Saunders was accused of grabbing a registered nurse at the North Bay and District Hospital and causing bruises, and making statements about love bites," says a summary by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The college released the results of its most recent disciplinary hearings Tuesday.

A hearing in May found Saunders must continue being treated by his psychiatrist who will provide quarterly reports to the college until treatment is no longer necessary.

Saunders is allowed to see patients on his own, but was to find a physician in the North Bay hospital who would agree to monitor his behaviour and report back to the college every three months.

Physicians and appointed members of the public make up the five-member panel.

A written decision of the panel's findings is not yet available and usually takes months to prepare, said college spokeswoman Kathryn Clarke.

The Decline of Psychiatry, Part 4

While people are in shock and horror at the decline of psychiatric services, this is all part of a larger picture where

• the psychs that do exist are moving to big cities where they can charge more and make more money
• Battered over the years, there are less people going into psychiatry as a profession.
• As soon as the organic disease process is identified, the claim of psychiatry is largely undermined and it passes instead to neurology or another specialty.

Of course, there have also been problems of compassion within the mental health industry as well, as evidenced by profiteering, etc.

From the Nanaimo Daily News

There may some logic, based on crunching numbers and bureaucratic mumbo jumbo, in the decision by the Vancouver Island Health Authority to close the psychiatric unit at West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni, but the closure makes no sense.

VIHA said they had to shut the unit for as long as a year because they cannot find a replacement for a departing psychiatrist. It's hard to believe that VIHA has allowed itself to end up in this position.

In fact, Alberni-Qualicum MLA Scott Fraser is right when he says, "It's not acceptable . . . . It's not an option. You cannot shut down essential services."

To add to Fraser's incredulity, closing a mental health ward approaches irresponsible if not outright negligent.

VIHA might argue they have no control over the comings and goings of doctors, but it's pretty hard to believe that they did not or could not foresee this long enough ago to take appropriate action.

Either way, the fact that they could not negotiate to have the current psychiatrist remain until a replacement could be found, or that they were caught by surprise, indicates something is wrong within VIHA.

What this also seems to indicate is that the health authority has little regard for those in need of mental health care.

Imagine if VIHA allowed the same state of affairs to happen at an emergency ward. The province would have to step in, replacing the VIHA board of directors -- who may also be personally liable for any tragedy -- and take steps to make sure that mandated level of emergency care is in place.

It is pretty shocking when one considers how the VIHA brass in Victoria seem to think about the mentally ill. The need for a psychiatrist in any community has to be seen as crucial as an emergency ward.

What the health authority seems to be saying is that someone in Port Alberni, or anywhere in the VIHA jurisdiction for that matter, who arrives at a hospital with a psychiatric crisis counts less than someone with a broken arm.

Sure, an untreated broken arm can lead to gangrene and death. But untreated mental distress can lead to suicide. And just as time is crucial in treating a medical emergency, so it is with a person in crisis from a mental disorder. Leaving such a person without necessary help will lead to escalating behaviour which can be violent or self destructive.

One agency that will not be very happy with state of affairs will be the RCMP. They are the ones who will have to cope with violent or suicidal people until appropriate help can be found. What do the RCMP do? Drive them to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital? Keep them in jail and let the courts sort it out?

VIHA's plan is that mental health and addictions community office in Port Alberni will handle psychiatric patients. The folks in that office must be just thrilled that their bosses in Victoria, who appear to have no insight into the needs of a person in mental distress, have delegated them as the ad hoc psych unit for the city.

The other plan is that a community response team will also intervene for people in need of psychiatric care. One problem though is that the team has not been established.

It's rather puzzling that VIHA appears to be able to put together this idea of a community response team, but can't seem to hire a psychiatrist.

Since its inception in 2002 VIHA has failed to serve any community on the Island adequately. Hospitals have become dirtier and less efficient, staff are overworked like never before, health facilities are increasingly crowded and this episode in Port Alberni is evidence of gross mismanagement.

The one place to start for a solution is for the VIHA board to censure Howard Waldner and his management team. And given that the board is ultimately liable, it seems they need to send a message that this state of affairs cannot go on.