Watchdog investigates surgeon over harassment allegations
The Parry Sound surgeon accused of sexual harassment by nurses, and of using an amputated toe to make a crude gesture in the operating room, is under investigation by Ontario’s physician watchdog.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said it is probing Dr. Bill Smyth, chief of surgery at the West Parry Sound Health Centre.
“Yes, I can confirm we are investigating Dr. Smyth,” said college spokesperson Kathryn Clarke. The college does not often confirm investigations that are underway, but Clarke quoted a regulation saying she could provide confirmation when there “is a compelling public interest in the disclosure of the information.”
The Star first revealed in early December that Smyth was the target of multiple complaints from nurses. In interviews, six nurses alleged to the Star that they have been subjected to a pattern of harassment by Smyth, who joined the Parry Sound hospital in 2009 after he lost his privileges at a hospital southwest of Ottawa because he created a “poisoned environment” among doctors and nurses, according to an arbitrator’s report in that case.
Nurses at Parry Sound have told the Star that Smyth is a bully and can be “threatening.” They have described a “sickening” atmosphere in the surgical section of the cottage country medical centre.
The nurses requested their names not be used as they fear job reprisals.
Smyth has not returned calls and emails from the Star, but hospital CEO Donald Sanderson said “the hospital is co-operating with the (college’s) investigation, which we understand is currently underway.”
“The hospital is committed to ensuring the safety of patients, staff and the community it serves and takes the complaints it receives seriously,” Sanderson said.
Nurses who have spoken to the Star say Smyth, an orthopedic surgeon, has for years made them feel uncomfortable in the operating room.
His email address is “drbonebanger” and people who have worked with him describe him as a colourful character who drives a motorcycle to work and is known for wearing unlaced workboots in the operating room, spattered with blood from previous operations.
Sanderson, the CEO, has refused to answer questions on whether any counselling or disciplinary action has been taken by the hospital following the revelations in the Star.
The hospital did use an outside lawyer to conduct a review, but Sanderson would not say if it is complete and, if so, what if any recommendations were made. The Star has not been able to determine if the hospital’s board of governors has received the report.
Among the specific allegations, nurses say Smyth “would hit nurses in the back of the head or kick them as they walked by” in the hospital.
He is also alleged to have made “honking sounds with his hands towards the scrub nurse’s breasts” while she helped him put on a sterile gown.
Smyth is alleged to have refused, at times, to pass on key clinical information to other doctors or nurses who take over a patient’s care.
“It’s the hospital’s problem. Let them figure it out,” one nurse recalled him saying.
Another allegation nurses have made to the hospital and the doctors’ regulator is that Smyth has a bizarre ritual after the amputation of a toe — a procedure sometimes necessitated by injury, diabetes or other health problems.
Nurses alleged that Smyth would take the amputated toe and put it between his clenched knuckles, jutting upward to make the “f--k you sign” to a female nurse.
According to written information reviewed by the Star, some nurses allege that the hospital is too focused on the fact that some nurses have become whistleblowers, raising what the hospital suggests is a breach of privacy, rather than focusing the concern on the actual allegations.