Discipline Case Summary

The following is a summary of the decision and reasons of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario. The Discipline Committee consists of 10 persons, three elected Council members, four public members, and three non-Council College members. This matter was heard by a five-member panel of the Discipline Committee on February 21, 1996.

Ms. X, owner of the XXX, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct under Section 1.25 of Ontario Regulation 861/93 for engaging in conduct that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.

Based on the agreed statement of facts, Ms. X allowed her husband, who is not a member of the College, to perform services restricted to registered physiotherapists without supervision or assistance. Ms. X failed to notify the clients under Mr. X's care that her husband was not a registered physiotherapist and used her registration number to send invoices to clients for the "physiotherapy services" he provided.

The Committee found that the misconduct in this case was a serious matter, particularly since Ms. X made no attempt to curtail her husband's activities during the nine month period from July 1994 to March 31, 1995. Of paramount concern to the Committee was the potential impact of the member's conduct on the public's confidence, both in the profession and in the College's ability to regulate its members. In considering the penalty, the panel balanced the need to dissuade Ms. X and other members from engaging in such practice with a number of mitigating factors, including Ms. X's admission to the charges, her full cooperation throughout the subsequent investigation, and her genuine remorse. 

Penalty

After deliberation, the panel agreed to the joint submission as to the following penalty

1. Ms. X's certificate of registration be suspended for a period of four months. The first two months commenced on April 1, 1996.
2. The second two months will be waived if
   1. Ms. X co-operates with an on-site review of her practice methods, staffing and billing by a mentor* on three separate occasions during the next year;
   2. Ms. X pays the College $2,500 to help defray the costs of the investigation and prosecution;
   3. Ms. X pays the College a maximum of $300 for each of three assessments, and agrees to implement any recommendations made by the mentor.

Failure to comply with the above conditions will result in suspension of the member’s registration for the remaining two months on a date determined by the Registrar.

* Re: Mentoring

The mentor is a physiotherapist who agrees to act as both a teacher and evaluator of practice and will assist the member in improving standards of practice. The mentor provides evaluation reports to the College and member at intervals determined by the College.