After years of complaints, Ontario doctor loses medical licence for 2 years

Dr. Cathy Frank is seen in this undated image from her LinkedIn profile.

An Ontario gynecologist’s medical licence has been suspended for two years after the province’s regulatory body for physicians ruled that she committed professional misconduct and was incompetent in the care of two dozen patients.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario also found that Dr. Cathy Frank, who most recently worked at Southern Ontario Fertility Technologies (S.O.F.T.) in London, Ont., failed to meet the standards of practice of her profession.

In a recently released disciplinary hearing decision, the CPSO said it had received more than 30 complaints from patients between 2009 and 2012 about the treatment they received from Dr. Frank. The CPSO’s decision details for the first time the nature of the complaints and the disciplinary committee’s findings.

The cases in question include a woman whose only remaining ovary was removed without consent during surgery and a woman whose fallopian tubes were tied without her consent after she lost her infant following an emergency C-section.

The CPSO found that Dr. Frank failed to adequately investigate causes of patients’ symptoms before performing surgeries, failed to obtain informed consent from patients, and performed surgeries that resulted in damage to patients’ organs and tissues, among other wrongdoings.

As a result, Dr. Frank’s medical licence has been suspended for 24 months. The suspension came into effect on Feb. 27.

Dr. Frank’s husband, Dr. James Martin, also worked at the S.O.F.T. fertility clinic. In 2014, he admitted to professional misconduct and ceased to practice fertility medicine.

According to the CPSO, Dr. Frank received her postgraduate training at the University of Western Ontario and officially became an obstetrician-gynecologist in 2002.

In its decision, the CPSO outlined 27 cases in which patients treated by Dr. Frank experienced complications, were not properly informed about their treatment options or did not undergo required tests and investigations of their symptoms.

Among the disciplinary committee’s findings:

In the past, Dr. Frank was the subject of numerous “undertakings” with the CPSO, including restrictions on how she could practice medicine, as a result of prior complaints from patients.

In 2011, three women launched lawsuits against Dr. Frank, who was practising medicine and performing surgeries in St. Thomas, Ont., at the time. The lawsuits alleged that each of the women “suffered significant” complications as a result of Dr. Frank’s medical care. The patients also said that they did not know the CPSO had placed restrictions on Dr. Frank’s practice in 2009.

Legate & Associates LLP, the law firm that represented the plaintiffs, subsequently said that more than 50 other women came forward and that it expected “many more lawsuits” would be issued.

Joni Dobson, a partner at the firm, said Thursday that she cannot discuss the status of the lawsuits “or anything related to settlements.”

The lawyer who represented Dr. Frank at her most recent CPSO disciplinary hearing committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

When Dr. Frank’s suspension is lifted, she will face numerous restrictions imposed by the CPSO, including practising only in the areas of reproductive endocrinology and infertility,office-based gynecology and early obstetrical care.