MEDICAL PROTEST
Patients want MD reinstated
A suspended Sherwood Park doctor accused of professional misconduct and defrauding the government is actually a talented, caring physician who should be allowed to keep practising medicine, a group of his patients said Sunday.
About 25 patients of Dr. Vincenzo Visconti staged a rally at the legislature Sunday morning to call for his reinstatement by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.
“To end a career like this with a witch hunt, it’s heartbreaking,” said June Hutchinson, who credits Visconti for saving her life by finding a cancerous lump in her throat other doctors missed.
“I just think it’s all been blown out of proportion.”
Visconti, who operates the Brentwood Medical Walk-in Clinic, did not attend the rally.
The college handed him an immediate and indefinite licence suspension on Friday, forcing him to shut down his clinic pending a disciplinary hearing. Patients are now being directed to other family doctors.
Visconti has been charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000, and the college alleges there have been long-standing, ongoing concerns around prescribing and quality of care.
But those at the rally said such allegations do not match the character of the man they know.
“That (clinic) is packed with
To end a career like this with a witch hunt, it’s heartbreaking. I just think it’s all been blown out of proportion.
people, which is a sign in itself of what a good doctor he is,” Hutchinson said.
The college has said Visconti has an unusually high roster of 3,500 patients, though many of those are occasional walk-in patients.
“I can see why he has too many patients because he cares … and is willing to go the extra mile,” said Sheila Wilson, who has seen Visconti for 15 years.
“I’m just floored by the process that has been embarked upon to take this doctor away from his practice,” patient Barry Boychuk added.