Ottawa psychiatrist ordered to take courses in ethics, anger management

An Ottawa psychiatrist has been suspended for four months and ordered to take anger management training after labelling one of his patients a “terrorist,” and accusing two colleagues of plotting against him and stealing his keys.

Dr. John Dimock later found the keys to his clinic on the floor of his car.

Dimock, 66, has been a practising psychiatrist for more than 35 years with offices in Ottawa and Farmville, Va. In a decision issued last month, the discipline committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario suspended his licence for four months due to professional misconduct, and ordered him to complete courses in ethics, workplace boundaries and anger management.

The sanctions were imposed based on the complaints of two patients and two colleagues that date back several years.

The discipline committee heard that one man, identified as Patient A, alleged that Dimock made inappropriate comments about his secretary, and about Jewish and Palestinian people, while talking about himself “for a good portion” of two appointments in 2013. In his written report about the patient, Dimock described him as “apparently Canadian.”

When he was notified of the patient complaint, Dimock denied making any comments that could be construed as racist or discriminatory. He accused the college of harassment.

Based on the complaint, in October 2015 the college’s inquiries, complaints and reports committee ordered Dimock to complete an education program about respectful and effective communication.

Dimock asked for a review of that decision by the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board. During a teleconference before the review, Dimock told the board that Patient A worked for ISIS, the terrorist organization, and was a psychopath who should be behind bars. Dimock also told the board that Patient A was committing insurance fraud and had once been arrested for abducting his own children.

During the same October 2016 teleconference, Dimock suggested the college was biased against him because he had “diagnosed” Dr. Charles Smith as incompetent well before the former child pathologist was exposed by public inquiries as dangerously inept.

Dimock later told the college’s discipline committee that he was “not at his best” during the review

Dimock denied making any comments that could be construed as racist or discriminatory. He accused the college of harassment.

board proceedings, and that his behaviour was out of character.

The discipline committee found that Dimock’s assertions to the review board were false and unfounded.

The college hired an expert to review Dimock’s care of a second complainant, Patient B. The expert concluded his patient care was reasonable, but said a peevish email exchange evinced a lack of judgment. The expert also found it “extremely puzzling and somewhat concerning” that Dimock sent the woman a LinkedIn request to make her part of his online professional network.

In late 2014, a colleague raised questions with the college about Dimock’s behaviour, which led to him undergoing a psychiatric assessment to assess his fitness to practise. It concluded he was mentally fit.

Dimock phoned the college and demanded to know who was spreading lies about him. He told the college others were jealous of his successful practice because he was “the best psychiatrist probably in the province of Ontario,” according to the discipline committee.

Dimock subsequently turned on two colleagues whom he suspected of going to the college behind his back. He accused them of plotting to discredit him so they could steal his patients. He also banged repeatedly on a colleague’s door and called her profane names in front of her patients, the committee said.

Reached at his Barrhaven home on Monday, Dimock declined to comment on his discipline case.