ANNOUNCER: I’m here with John Nicholson from Cohen Highly Lawyers. If a healthcare professional’s college investigates them, what are the possible outcomes?
JOHN: The investigation is first sent to the complaints committee. After reviewing the evidence, the complaints committee has options ranging from taking no action to making practice improvement recommendations or issuing a caution.
ANNOUNCER: What else?
JOHN: The college can also mandate re-education or remediation, which is at the professional’s expense and can be quite costly.
ANNOUNCER: Anything else?
JOHN: The complaints committee can also refer the case to the disciplinary committee or the Fitness to Practice committee.
ANNOUNCER: That sounds serious.
JOHN: It is. Both of these committees have the power to suspend or revoke a healthcare professional’s license to practice. On top of this, these are public hearings and the information, as well as outcomes, are often published on the Internet.
ANNOUNCER: So, what should a healthcare professional take from this?
JOHN: Any investigation by their college must be taken seriously and they need to reach out for experienced legal assistance immediately.