Ottawa MD faces discipline hearing
Christiane Farazli accused of engaging in conduct that was ‘disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional’
An Ottawa doctor at the centre of a health scare after medical instruments at her Carling Avenue clinic weren’t properly sterilized is now facing allegations of incompetence and a disciplinary hearing.
Dr. Christiane Farazli is accused of professional misconduct by the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons after allegedly engaging in “disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional” conduct in relation to 20 patients, according to a notice of hearing.
One patient alleged Farazli continued with a medical procedure even though they were screaming from the “excruciating” pain; another said Farazli ignored their request for her to stop due to the “unbearable” pain and inadequate anesthesia, alleged the notice of hearing.
Farazli allegedly failed to provide several patients with enough sedation, charged some for drugs that were administered and exposed all but two of them to potential infection, according to the notice of hearing.
The College alleges that Farazli also proposed to engage a sales representative in a medical procedure when a nurse wasn’t available, maintained inaccurate notes and engaged in “callous, rough and unprofessional communications” with numerous patients.
“In addition, it is also alleged Dr. Farazli displayed incompetence, failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession and engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct in her out-of-hospital facility practice, including but not limited to, in her infection control and instrument processing failures; lack of training and certification of her staff; failure to provide and maintain an adequate facility; and lack of emergency preparedness,” read a summary of the allegations on the College of Physicians and Surgeons website.
None of the allegations is proven.
Farazli could lose her medical licence if she is found to have committed misconduct, although other penalties include suspensions, restrictions on her licence, a reprimand, or a fine of up to $35,000. No hearing date has been set.
Attempts to reach Farazli by phone and at the upscale home on Lamira Street near Billings Bridge now listed as the address of her practice were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Farazli’s endoscopy clinic on Carling Avenue was ordered to stop performing endoscopies in June 2011 after it failed an inspection by the college, which regulates the province’s doctors.
The inspection determined that equipment used to conduct gastroscopies and colonoscopies was not always appropriately cleaned between tests, potentially exposing patients to a slight chance of HIV or hepatitis infection.
The findings caused a scare for 6,800 of Farazli’s former patients, though the city’s public-health unit didn’t end up finding any link between cases of serious illness and her clinic.
However, a potential classaction lawsuit had been filed in November 2011. At the time, five people had tested positive for an infectious disease while two others have tested positive for hepatitis B antibodies, according to a lawyer who was then representing some of Farazli’s former patients.
Farazli indicated she intended to defend against the lawsuit. A statement of claim has yet to be filed, which isn’t unusual in class-action cases, said Stephen Osborne, who has since taken over the case on behalf of the plaintiffs.
Osborne didn’t have the most recent number of patients involved in the class-action suit, but said disciplinary proceedings are welcomed.
“I’ve talked to people and that’s one of their first concerns, even more so than any type of financial compensation, in making sure if there has been any negligent or intentionally harmful behaviour on her part that it doesn’t continue towards other patients,” Osborne said.
Kathryn Clarke, spokeswoman for the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, said Farazli is currently still licensed but cannot perform procedures in an out-of-hospital setting.
It was “very rare” that a physician would be suspended prior to a disciplinary hearing, said Clarke.