An Ottawa doctor whose clinic was at the centre of an infection scare has agreed never to practice medicine again after the College of Physicians and Surgeons found her unprofessional and incompetent.
The College held a disciplinary hearing for Dr. Christiane Farazli on Thursday after dozens of patients also came forward to say that she had brutalized them during procedures, such as colonoscopies.
In reports submitted to the College’s discipline committee, Farazli’s former patients said they endured “unbearable pain” and “inadequate sedation” during procedures in her office. Another said Farazli enlisted the help of a visiting sales rep during a procedure when her nurse failed to show up for work.
Patient Louise Marchand said Farazli “tortured” her during a colonoscopy.
“(I was) told to shut up and stop acting like a baby because I asked her to discontinue the procedure because I was in excruciating pain and screaming,” Marchand told CTV Ottawa.
In its final report on Farazli, the College wrote: “To treat patients in this position with gross insensitivity and disregard of their discomfort is unconscionable.”
It went on: “Your patients deserved respect, sensitivity and expertise.”
The College fined Farazli $4,500 and demanded that she appear before a committee in order to be reprimanded.
It also ordered her never to practice medicine in any jurisdiction again. That order includes, but is not limited to, a prohibition on having contact with patients, writing prescriptions, or being involved in the diagnosis or treatment of any person.
While Farazli was not at her disciplinary hearing, which was held in Toronto, her lawyer said Farazli has agreed to never practice medicine again.
Concerns about “lapses in infection control” at Farazli’s clinic first came to light three years ago, when Ottawa Public Health warned nearly 7,000 patients that they might have been exposed to diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.
At the time, Farazli issued an apology through the city department, saying she was “committed to the safety and well-being of my patients,” and was co-operating with OPH.
"I sincerely regret that the issues that were identified in my facility occurred and I apologize for any inconvenience or anxiety that patients may experience upon receiving this notification,” she said at the time.
After hundreds of patients had blood tests, it appeared that none of them contracted infections.
Nonetheless, some patients have launched a $20-million class action lawsuit.
With a report from CTV Ottawa’s Joanne Schnurr
