Clinical care and conduct complaint
Most complaints submitted to the College deal with a registrant’s clinical decision-making or the way a patient has been treated. Below is a guide on how our process works for clinical care and conduct complaints.
What to expect after an investigation
Our goal is to protect the health and safety of patients. If a registrant’s conduct warrants criticism, we help a registrant improve their practice. The goal is to help prevent a similar circumstance from happening again.
In some cases, the correction and guidance included in the decision letter is considered sufficient. In other cases, we may take some of the following actions:
- interview the registrant to discuss the matter in more detail
- request the registrant take certain educational courses
- seek a signed commitment in regard to the registrant’s future practice
- hand out a formal reprimand to a registrant
- place a registrant’s practice under certain restrictions
- cite a registrant for their conduct and require them to attend a public hearing
- in extreme circumstances, take away a registrant’s licence
A complaint may prompt the Inquiry Committee to launch a more general investigation into a registrant’s practice. This will result in a more comprehensive review. Whatever the outcome of a complaint, a copy of the decision is placed on the registrant’s permanent record at the College.
How to appeal a decision
All of our remedial and disciplinary activities are subject to what is allowed under the Health Professions Act. The Health Professions Review Board (HPRB) can independently review certain decisions made by health profession regulatory colleges. A person filing a complaint can apply for a HPRB review if they believe the investigation was inadequate or if the decision was not reasonable.
