Physicians college, heal thyself; regulator’s malpractice puts Manitobans at risk

Opinion

It’s hard to imagine a bigger failure by a professional regulatory body than what’s happening right now at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba.

The college, which is supposed to protect the public from doctors who engage in misconduct, currently has just one investigator assigned to review complaints from the public about physician conduct.

One.

There are 225 outstanding complaints in front of the regulatory body, most of them involving serious matters, and only a single investigator to probe them. It’s appalling.

The backlog is so severe that some Manitobans who filed complaints about their doctor are waiting up to a year — maybe longer — to have them addressed. In the meantime, doctors who may have engaged in inappropriate — even harmful — conduct continue to