Ontario's chief coroner commits to new complaints system
04.10.2008 00:01
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
Ontario's chief coroner has said setting up a new complaints process at his office will be a top priority, following a recommendation from the Goudge report released this week. Justice Stephen Goudge led an inquiry examining a series of faulty pediatric autopsies in the 1990s led by pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, whose flawed work was the basis of several people being wrongfully persecuted for murdering their children or those in their care. Under a proposal in the report, released Wednesday, if people aren't satisfied with the response from the coroner's office to a complaint they can appeal to a higher governing council. Andrew McCallum, Ontario's new chief coroner, said he is committed to the idea. "If someone's dissatisfied with the process that's followed, there has to be a right of review or appeal so our intent is to put that into place as quickly as possible," he said. "It's early yet to determine how we would do that, but in principle the idea makes sense to me." Maurice Gagnon spent years complaining about an autopsy by Dr. Charles Smith that prompted police to investigate his daughter for the murder of his grandson. He said if he had the opportunity to appeal in the 1990s, the tragedies that resulted form Smith's work may have been prevented. "It would have made quite a difference in that Smith's career would have ended much earlier than it did," he said. Gagnon told CBC News he spent his retirement savings hiring international experts who testified that the autopsy of his grandson was one the most incompetent child death investigations they had ever seen. "For six, seven years I went directly to the chief coroner," Gagnon said. "Matter of fact, I had meetings with the deputy chief coroner. Any complaint that was made eventually found its way to Jim Young's desk and he summarily just dismissed them. He never addressed any of them." When Gagnon felt he was getting nowhere with the former chief corner, James Young, he went to the College of Physicians and Surgeons which eventually reprimanded Smith. The inquiry made 169 recommendations in the 675-page report released Wednesday about how deaths should be investigated when foul play is suspected. The report implores the province to overhaul its autopsy system in the wake of the findings against discredited pathologist Charles Smith. Over a 10-year span at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Smith "actively misled" his superiors, "made false and misleading statements" in court and exaggerated his expertise in trials, Goudge found. In 20 child autopsies reviewed by outside experts in 2005, he was found to have made major scientific errors, leading to baseless charges of child-killing and 13 subsequent criminal convictions. The Government of Ontario has promised to introduce changes to the Coroners Act that would allow for the new system to be put in place. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksInquiry blasts pathologist Smith and his overseersGoudge inquiry expected to urge sweeping reforms for child autopsiesIN DEPTH: Dr. Charles SmithHealth HeadlinesLong sick leaves may signal early death risk: studyPeople who take extended sick leave from work may be at a higher risk of dying early, a finding that could help doctors identify life-threatening problems sooner. Sale of cough, cold medicines for children under 6 reviewedBanning over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children under six might drive parents to resort to adult medicines, a U.S. health official said in weighing a recall of products to fight runny noses and congestion.Blind Calgary baby travelling overseas for stem cell therapyThe Calgary parents of a 10-month-old blind baby are heading to China in the hopes a controversial stem cell therapy will give him some sight.Investigation needed into E. coli warning delay: hospital presidentThe president of Windsor Regional Hospital in southwestern Ontario is demanding an investigation into delays in warning his hospital about possible E. coli contamination in lettuce served to patients.Insecticides still best treatment for head lice, pediatricians adviseHead lice are common, contagious and dreaded by parents of school-aged children, but are not a health hazard, the Canadian Pediatric Society said in a new position statement. Health FeaturesHEALTHMultiple sclerosisHigh rates in Canada and around the worldIN DEPTHFood additivesPreservation with a risk?HEALTHPsychologyInside the endurance athlete's mindVIEWPOINTHeather MallickFat and food: what's the real crisis?MEDICAL RESEARCHBrain banksCrucial for research, clamouring for donorsCHILD PSYCHOLOGYPoliticians' behaviourHow do we explain it to our kids?People who read this also read …
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