CPSA overturns sanctions against Medicine Hat doctor
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has lifted the sanctions imposed on a Medicine Hat doctor who was suspended from his practice for more than a year over allegations he had inappropriate contact with a vulnerable patient.
The CPSA said Dr. Ian Gebhardt was sanctioned following a hearing last year in connection with an incident in June 2017.
The college heard that Gebhardt touched a developmentally delayed patient in a sexual manner.
The patient's mother testified before the tribunal and Gebhardt's practice permit was suspended for 20 months.
He was also handed an indefinite chaperone condition, which would require him to have another person present at all of his patient interactions.
'Serious sanctions'
Gebhardt appealed the sanctions, calling them 'unfair and unreasonable,' the CPSA said.
During the appeal, heard in March, the CPSA said the suspension and chaperone order were both 'serious sanctions' that the complaints director said were necessary given the nature of the alleged misconduct.
It also heard that the evidence that Gebhardt's counsel learned about the complainant during cross-examination was given little weight on the outcome of the case.
'Dr. Gebhardt asserted that the hearing tribunal made errors by denying him the ability to test (the patient)'s direct evidence through cross-examination, by relying on hearsay evidence to compensate for the lack of direct evidence and in applying undue scrutiny to Dr. Gebhardt's evidence,' the CPSA's council review panel said.
'Never know with certainty what happened'
The panel also mentioned that the credibility of the complainant was questionable, given that he could not give clear answers about the incident and lied to 'avoid getting into trouble.'
'The hearing tribunal rejected the possibility that had blended his memory of his visit with Dr. Gebhardt with memories of sexual interactions with other individuals,' the panel said.
'The panel is mindful that we will never know with certainty what happened on June 6, 2017, but the standard of proof requires evidence to be 'clear, convincing and cogent to satisfy the balance of probabilities test.'
'The evidence in support of the allegation did not meet that standard.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
10 minutes ago
- CBC
Nova Scotia's first provincial autism action plan to be released in 2026
Nova Scotia's first autism action plan, which aims to improve services and supports for people on the autism spectrum, is expected to be released within the first few months of 2026 following about a year of community consultation. The plan, which has been touted as the first of its kind in Canada, was first announced in May 2024. The goal was for it to be ready in 2025, but Autism Nova Scotia and the provincial government agreed to spend more time to ensure the plan will be properly implemented upon its release. "We really wanted to make sure that we were not leaving any stones unturned," said Amanda Alexander, Autism Nova Scotia's CEO, in a recent interview. Alexander said the organization has been working to identify what supports are now available to people of all ages with autism spectrum disorder, and make recommendations to fill any gaps in services. They've been gathering information through virtual consultations, surveys and a number of working groups made up of caregivers, service providers, experts and people on the spectrum. Amanda Alexander is the chief executive officer of Autism Nova Scotia. (Autism Nova Scotia/Facebook) "One of the most important things that we heard repeatedly … was that in order to best serve the autistic community, autistic voices and their lived experience have to be central to the work and really be the driving force behind decisions," Alexander said. Brian Comer, minister of addictions and mental health, told CBC in a recent interview that the prevalence of autism, particularly among youth in Nova Scotia, is concerning. He said significant work on the action plan has been done so far, with even more to be completed. The Nova Scotia government gave Autism Nova Scotia $200,000 to develop the plan, and about 10 provincial departments are involved — including Addictions and Mental Health, Health and Wellness, and Education. Comer said one of the most prominent gaps that's been identified through the development of the plan to date is the need for more programming across the province, particularly in rural areas. "I think ultimately it's really about accessing services in your community, right? Closer to home, quicker access to services and really supporting families and their children," he said. He was reluctant to say exactly what would be in the final action plan, but he said he hopes it will include strategies to help families navigate the resources that are available. Brian Comer is the minister responsible for Nova Scotia's Department of Addictions and Mental Health. (CBC) Alexander said the two pieces of feedback Autism Nova Scotia has heard most "loudly and boisterously" have been the need for more autistic individuals to be involved in creating the policies that impact them, as well as the need for more education about neurodiversity. "Those are demands of the community that the community is waiting to have met," she said. MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Breastfeeding could help prevent early puberty in girls and boys, South Korean study finds
Girls and boys who were exclusively breastfed during their first four to six months showed a reduced risk of early puberty, according to a large new study from South Korea that Canadian doctors say could apply here. The study, published in Monday's issue of JAMA Network Open, looked back at the diets and development of more than 300,000 children from 2007 to 2020, based on data from checkups at four to six months of age and before six years. Worldwide, puberty has increasingly begun earlier in kids. Called "central precocious puberty," it's linked to an increased risk of health problems in adulthood, like heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as mental health issues like depression and anxiety. The researchers believe that kids who are exclusively breastfed are less likely to develop childhood obesity, a major predisposing factor of early puberty. However, experts note that many mothers face challenges in breastfeeding, which they say should be addressed on a structural level. "The take-home message should be, for parents or to-be parents, that breastfeeding has multiple beneficial health effects for their children," said Dr. Sonia Anand, associate vice-president of global health at McMaster University, who was not involved in the study. "And the second message is it is not always easy to do." Long-term benefits of breastfeeding About 46 per cent of the babies in the South Korean study were exclusively breastfed, more than a third had formula and nearly 20 per cent had both. "The idea is that breastfed kids are less likely to have extra weight and that's the mechanism whereby they're more protected from developing early puberty," said Dr. Kaberi Dasgupta, a professor of medicine and physician scientist at the McGill University Health Centre, who also was not involved in the study. Boys who were fed just formula had a 16 per cent increased risk of early puberty compared with their peers who were only fed breast milk, the researchers found. For exclusively formula-fed girls, the association jumped to 60 per cent. For mixed-fed boys, it was 14 per cent higher, compared with 45 per cent for girls. The researchers noted some caveats to their study. The participants self-reported how long they breastfed their children, for example. It also couldn't include genetic factors like maternal age of puberty. The early part of life is a key time, as that's when a lot of disease risk is set, wrote doctors Lin Yang and Shengxu Li. Though they weren't involved in the study, they wrote an accompanying journal commentary. "Disease starts early, so should its prevention," they said. Dasgupta says there's no reason to think the findings would be different in Canada. Preventing early puberty can also help kids in other ways, she adds. "The earlier your puberty, the shorter you may become," she said. "There's also the stigma around having early signs of being an adult when you're still a kid. Other kids may tease you." Supporting mothers instead of shaming Yang and the researchers say that instead of putting pressure on new moms, a society-wide approach is important. That includes stronger parental leave policies, workplace accommodations like a private space to breastfeed and lactation support services. "I think policy support, raised awareness, as well as creating the environment for women to be able to [breastfeed] is very important," Yang told CBC News. Sleep patterns, physical activity levels and screen time could also be increasing childhood obesity and early puberty rates, Yang and Li wrote in their commentary, as well as environmental pollutants like endocrine disruptors, though she acknowledged there isn't good data on that. In Canada, about 91 per cent of parents start out breastfeeding. About 38 per cent of parents breastfed exclusively for at least six months, Statistics Canada reported in 2024. Of those who stopped before six months, reasons included not having enough breast milk, finding breastfeeding difficult and the child weaning themself off of it. "I think the wrong takeaway and the wrong approach is to shame mothers who try to breastfeed but can't continue," Anand said. Breastfeeding is one factor among many that can influence weight gain in kids. Lifestyle choices like limiting fast food and cooking with more vegetables and lean proteins can also help prevent childhood obesity, doctors say. While the South Korean study doesn't prove that formula feeding causes early puberty, the researchers had a robust data set and the associations are plausible, she said. Anand's own research demonstrated early breastfeeding and for at least six months was associated with lower levels of excess body fat in children at age three. She says she'd like to see other large studies show similar findings to the South Korean to nail down cause and effect. Studies looking at how genes are tied to precocious puberty could also help, she said.
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
Fraser Health hopes to mitigate measles threat ahead of students' return to the classroom
As students head back to school after the summer holidays, the Fraser Health Authority is meeting with school district superintendents to help them prepare for potential measles outbreaks. Fraser Health medical officer Lindsay Bowthorpe spoke to CBC News about why officials are raising awareness.
