Slipshod Hospital Treatment

Would you really believe that caveat emptor relates to critical surgical procedures undertaken by a senior surgeon who has been practising for a lengthy period of time, and who is so highly regarded that she is appointed the head of gynaecological surgery at the hospital where she has privileges as an area doctor? At St.Thomas Elgin General Hospital, Dr. Cathy Frank could be identified on the hospital website as the head of the institution's obstetrics and gynaecology department.

Really, how much more reassuring a search could be conducted by a patient before going in for what is considered to be routine surgery? Hysterectomies represent serious surgery, it is true, but they have been routinely done for an awfully long time. On the other hand, any surgical procedure runs the risk, due to its invasive character, of running into serious difficulties. And this is what Lorraine Kinninmont discovered, post-surgery.

She was more than satisfied with what she discovered about the surgeon who would be performing her impending surgery. Trouble was that during the hysterectomy procedure she suffered a perforated bowel. Additional, corrective surgery had to be done. And she was left with ongoing pain, and intestinal problems that have complicated her life and embarrassed her socially. She has launched a malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Frank. She had discovered that botched operations were not a rarity with Dr. Frank in charge.

Despite which, Dr. Frank simply continued her practise. And months after she had calamitously performed on Lorraine Kinninmont, Dr. Frank removed Debbie Cernanec's uterus. In the process, causing an abnormal vaginal opening leading to incontinence and further operations. And Dr. Frank is now being sued by Debbie Cernanec as well, for malpractice. Neither of these women had any idea whatsoever that the expert surgeon, chief of the hospital's gynaecology department, had a history of poor surgical outcomes.

"I'm very disappointed and very angry that I was not warned about Dr. Frank. This is information that should have been made available to me before I let Dr. Frank operate on me. Dr. Frank should have told me, the hospital certainly should have told me. I feel the system has failed. It's let me down. It's let us all down." Lorraine Kinninmont

She is perfectly correct in all of those claims. while the lawsuits have yet to see a court of law and the allegations brought against Dr. Frank proven, the inalienable reality is that those surgeries were botched, and the women involved have been victimized by a system that looks after its own. They're by no means the only patients of this doctor who have a grievance. Another 80 of whom have reached the law firm involved in these suits with allegations of their own relating to surgeries they experienced at Dr. Frank's expert hands.

Complaints were also lodged with the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons. And their response too was rather lacklustre, having taken an awfully long time to address these complaints. They did, in the end, order Dr. Frank not to apply for surgical privileges at any hospital. They also posted Dr. Frank's practice restriction on the college website under the provincial directory listing of doctors. Of course, one has to know enough to access the website and look for that specific information to be forewarned.

The women have named the St.Thomas Elgin General Hospital as well in their lawsuits, claiming it should have been seen as a hospital responsibility to ensure that any patients of Dr. Frank were made aware of the accusations of incompetence lodged against her. Far more than that, the hospital itself should have launched an intensive investigation to determine for themselves all the details relating to these surgical outcomes. And then considered the appropriateness of having her continue on as chief of that department, let alone allowing her to continue surgical procedures in any capacity.

They eventually did do that, appointing an independent reviewer to assess the professionalism and reliability of surgical interventions on the part of their chief of obstetrics and gynaecology. It took over a year afterward, for Dr. Frank to resign from the hospital.