DISRUPTIVE DOC SUSPENDED
Surgeon who fostered ‘a culture of fear and distrust’ among colleagues ousted for at least two years and ordered to pay $700,000 in costs
A Grande Prairie surgeon who fostered a “culture of fear and distrust” by frequently complaining and threatening legal action against colleagues has been banned from practising medicine for at least two years and ordered to pay more than $700,000.
Dr. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi’s combative behaviour and failure to co-operate with coworkers made him a “disruptive” force to health services over a decade at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital, a tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta ruled.
“This is a sad case because Dr. AlGhamdi’s lack of insight into his behaviour, and his refusal to accept responsibility for the impact of his actions, has impacted his practice as an orthopedic surgeon — a profession for which he has spent years training, cares about deeply and is skilled in practising,” the tribunal wrote in its December 2017 decision, which was made public this week.
The ruling came after a disciplinary hearing that lasted almost two years, required more than 40 days of testimony, and cost more than $1 million to conduct — making it the most expensive hearing in the college’s history.
A total of 67 witnesses eventually testified, 50 of whom were called by Al-Ghamdi. The list included a number of top executives from Alberta Health Services, including current CEO Dr. Verna Yiu and one of her predecessors, Dr. Chris Eagle.
Al- Ghamdi, who obtained a law degree while working as a surgeon in Grande Prairie, represented himself for all but the last five days of the hearing. The tribunal largely blamed him for the length of the case, accusing him of demanding an excessive number of witnesses to appear, engaging in repetitive and unhelpful questioning of witnesses, ignoring tribunal rulings, and repeatedly attacking the tribunal itself as unfair and biased.
The tribunal heard that AlGhamdi worked at the Grande Prairie hospital from 2003 to 2013, during which time several conflicts arose around three main issues: the on-call schedule for orthopedic surgeons, access to the operating room for Al-Ghamdi’s patients, and his views that colleagues were providing substandard care.
A breaking point occurred in December 2012, when the other orthopedic surgeons declared that Al- Ghamdi had become so difficult in regard to the on-call schedule that they would no longer share the schedule with him or help cover his patients at night.
The following year, 37 of the 40 nurses who worked in the operating room signed a petition refusing to work with Al- Ghamdi. He was suspended from the hospital a short time later and has not worked as a surgeon since, the report said.
The tribunal heard that during his time at Queen Elizabeth II, AlGhamdi often reported colleagues — or threatened to report them — to hospital administration, AHS leaders and professional colleges that regulate nurses and doctors.
Doctors were reported to the College of Physicians and Surgeons for a variety of reasons ranging from failing to wear a mask in the operating room and using profanity in the workplace, to instances where Al- Ghamdi felt patients were provided with inadequate care.
Though one of the complaints did result in the college censuring a doctor, “Dr. Al- Ghamdi made no distinction between relatively minor deviations and much more serious
The tribunal concludes that Dr. Al-Ghamdi’s fellow workers directed ... remarks at one individual who was persistently making their daily life very difficult.
matters,” the tribunal wrote in its decision.
The hearing also heard from several nurses, who testified that they feared working with Al-Ghamdi due to a belief that even a minor mistake might cause him to “write them up.”
One nurse told the tribunal that she took seven weeks of stress leave after the surgeon reported her for a second time to the College and Association of Registered Nurses.
In addition to the complaints, the tribunal ruled Al-Ghamdi also had created a stressful work environment by threatening his colleagues with lawsuits.
An anesthesiologist testified that he had to stop working with AlGhamdi, in part because threats of “medico-legal action” were causing him to focus more on AlGhamdi in the operating room than the patient.
When the anesthesiologist withdrew his services, Al- Ghamdi then threatened to sue the hospital’s chief of staff for loss of income if his surgeries didn’t proceed, the tribunal heard.
At points during his disciplinary hearing, Al- Ghamdi attempted to serve some of the witnesses with court papers for a lawsuit he had launched, the report said.
Other testimony at the hearing focused on instances when Al-Ghamdi was allegedly uncooperative in postponing his own surgeries to ensure more urgent cases received priority.
In defending himself during the hearing, Al- Ghamdi made a number of different arguments.
He argued he was the victim of “workplace mobbing” — in part motivated by racism and Islamophobia — and even called an expert to testify about it.
Dr. Kenneth Westhues, a retired sociologist from the University of Waterloo, described the concept as a group of employees ganging up on a peer to make that person’s life miserable and drive them out of the workplace. He testified that Al-Ghamdi’s experience at the Grande Prairie hospital seemed to fit that definition.
Indeed, testimony from hospital staff at least partially substantiated the claims of a racist and toxic work environment cultivated by some of the nursing staff toward Al- Ghamdi and other visible minorities.
The hearing was told some nurses referred to Al- Ghamdi as “Dr. al- Qaida,” speculated that he disliked Christians, Christmas, and women, and suggested that “Muslims prefer to keep women in the barn and goats in the house.”
Al- Ghamdi also argued other orthopedic surgeons had conspired to make his life difficult, and that there was an active campaign to interfere or bump his surgeries.
He argued witnesses had lied in their testimony about him.
In regard to his frequent complaints, he said it was his duty as a physician to report instances of sub-standard care and unprofessional conduct.
While the tribunal acknowledged the evidence of inappropriate conduct by some hospital staff, they ruled Al- Ghamdi had brought much of it on himself with his combative behaviour.
“The tribunal concludes that Dr. Al-Ghamdi’s fellow workers directed such remarks at one individual who was persistently making their daily life very difficult,” the hearing report said.
The report went on to state that Al-Ghamdi’s performance at the hearing often displayed an “arrogance” that he was smarter and better educated that his colleagues.
Tribunal members concluded such an attitude undoubtedly played a role in the breakdown of relationships at the hospital, and made it difficult for him to participate in collaborative, team-based care.
In the end, the tribunal found AlGhamdi guilty on eight of 13 charges of unprofessional conduct.
Charges that were not proven included allegations that he failed to finish his surgeries in a timely manner, and that his acts of secretly recording conversations negatively impacted the work environment.
The college’s complaints director recommended that Al- Ghamdi be declared “ungovernable” and lose his medical licence permanently, but the tribunal decided that was too harsh.
Instead, members ordered a three-year suspension that can be reduced to two if Al-Ghamdi completes an assessment program, which may include therapy and courses in interpersonal relationships.
He also must pay more than $700,000 in costs.
Al- Ghamdi has decided to appeal the tribunal’s decision, and those arguments are to be heard sometime this fall.
In a phone interview with Postmedia, he maintained he was being punished for doing his duty to ensure patients are receiving proper care.
“It was a retaliation to my activity to report under our standards,” he said. “You can’t charge someone for doing the right thing.”
He said the tribunal’s report on the hearing did not accurately reflect the testimony that was presented.
AHS issued a statement saying Al- Ghamdi is not currently working at any of its facilities, and that officials are still reviewing the circumstances of the case.
As for the testimony about a racist and toxic work environment, AHS said it is committed to working with staff to ensure everyone is treated with respect.
“Any concerns of workplace discrimination and violence are addressed immediately,” the statement said, adding that staff are encouraged to speak up when they have concerns about a colleague.
The statement also noted AlGhamdi has been unsuccessful in appealing the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s dismissal of his claim of discrimination.