ESTEVAN — An Estevan doctor is being suspended for breaching the condition of his undertaking. Dr. Mehdi Horri's two-month suspension is set to start Nov. 1.
Bryan Salte, associate registrar and legal counsel with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS), said the decision was made after "Horri admitted unprofessional conduct by seeing a female patient without a chaperone present, contrary to the undertaking which he signed, and failing to report the breach to the college, again contrary to the undertaking that he signed with the college."
The situation occurred on March 20, and the decision followed a penalty hearing held on Sept. 22.
According to documents provided by the CPSS' registrar's office, the situation occurred 21 days after Horri signed a stricter undertaking, in which he committed "to not have any professional encounter or any portion thereof with female patients except in the presence of a female practice monitor; and to immediately report to the college any known or suspected breaches of the terms of this undertaking by himself, or any known or suspected breaches of the terms of an undertaking by a practice monitor."
In the description of the incident, it was outlined that the name of the patient was one of those that can be of either gender, and the chaperone didn't go into the examination room with Horri since she thought it was a male patient. After the four-minute visit was over, she noticed that the patient in question was a four-year-old girl, who was accompanied by her father throughout. Horri didn't call the practice monitor into the room at any time.
The incident was reported the same day by the practice monitor.
Lawyer Matthew Wiens, representing Horri, noted the doctor failed to report the incident to the college himself since he thought the practice monitor would be doing so, according to a report by the Leader-Post.
In his explanation to the College, Horri said he has very strict arrangements with the practice monitor for all female patients, and she is supposed to enter the room before him any time there is a female in the room. But when he entered the room to see the young patient that day, he said he did not realize that the practice monitor was not present. Once he realized that, he said he left.
"It was an isolated error on a busy clinic day and was in no way intentional or reflective of lack of diligence or appropriate systems in place within the clinic," Horri wrote to the college.
According to the information provided by the college, they have not been notified of any other issues regarding compliance with the chaperone/practice monitor condition since this breach.
Salte said there was more than just the circumstances of the breach that resulted in a decision to suspend Horri for two months.
"The information about the circumstances of the breach was only part of the information presented to the council. In addition to the circumstances of the breach, the information included that Dr. Horri had on two occasions previously been found guilty of unprofessional conduct; that the undertaking was given following a suspension hearing at which the council considered whether to suspend Dr. Horri until the investigation into other concerns about his conduct was complete; that the undertaking was very detailed and specific; and that before Dr. Horri signed the undertaking, he was required to meet with a representative of the college to go over the undertaking and confirm that he understood all of the terms of the undertaking," Salte said.
Besides the personal reasons mentioned above, the registrar's office said a suspension should be considered by the council on the broader grounds.
"In order to regulate the medical profession, it is imperative that undertakings given to the college must be strictly complied with," outlined Salte.
"[Besides], when imposing penalty, it is not just the physician's individual circumstances that are relevant. It is also relevant that a penalty is a precedent that will be considered in any future similar circumstance, and the penalty must be sufficient to discourage other physicians from engaging in similar conduct and maintain the confidence of the public that the college is able to act appropriately to address unprofessional conduct by Saskatchewan physicians."
Salte noted that penalty hearings before the council are conducted similar to sentencing hearings in a criminal court. The opposing lawyers present their arguments for the council, which then meets in private to consider the information and makes a decision. The written reasons for decision are usually presented at the next council meeting, which in Horri's case hasn't occurred yet.
Council's reasons will presumably explain why the suspension is not to start until Nov. 1, but Salte noted: "The usual reason for delaying the effective date of a suspension is to allow the physician to make arrangements for their patients and to lessen the effect of the physician's removal from practice on their patients."
While the council realizes a doctor's suspension is tough on patients and hospitals, they also have to base their decisions on misconduct to ensure justice and better discipline and service for all.
"One of the realities is that any time that a physician is suspended it will have an effect on their patients. Courts and other discipline committees have frequently emphasized that the penalties imposed should reflect the seriousness of the misconduct and the need for the physician's services should be accorded less weight," Salte explained.
"Among the reasons for that is that a different approach would be unfair to physicians who are less in demand, as they would be treated more harshly than a physician who was more in demand who engaged in the same type of unprofessional conduct."
News about Horri's suspension was met with a lot of emotions among Estevan residents, with some people expressing their frustration and disappointment, and others calling to support the doctor whose service they appreciate. Several local Facebook users made posts suggesting that if someone is upset about Horri's suspension, they should contact the college's quality care, CEO and deputy registrar.
"Let's see if we can flood them all with emails and calls directly and keep our family doctor," one of the users who named himself Fernando Julio posted in one of the local groups. "If the college is to ensure quality care for the public, cutting access off to a physician is not what should be done."
Horri's suspension will occur during the cold and flu season.
There will be no changes to his undertaking when he is back Jan. 1, as Salte noted that it's already very restrictive.
Horri's lawyers as well as his office haven't responded to the Mercury's request for comments by press time.
