Vancouver massage therapist temporarily banned from certain treatments amid investigation

FILE: A massage table is seen in this undated photo. (Shutterstock)

A Vancouver-based registered massage therapist has been banned from conducting certain treatments while his professional college investigates a sexual misconduct allegation against him.

The College of Complementary Health Professionals of B.C. took the “extraordinary action” against Hamidreza Salahi on Sept. 8, according to a notice published on the college’s website.

The college said a panel of its inquiry committee found there was “a prima facie case” supporting a patient’s allegations that Salahi “engaged in sexual misconduct by remarking on the patient’s appearance, hugging the patient, and undraping and performing treatment to particularly sensitive areas of the patient’s body without obtaining her specific consent.”

“Prima facie” is a legal term meaning “on its face.” The allegations against Salahi have not been proven.

“The panel found that there were certain factors that rendered the alleged conduct involving the treatment of sensitive areas likely to recur,” the notice reads. “Therefore, the panel determined that the public must be protected by an interim order during the investigation, pending any disciplinary hearing.”

The interim order imposes several conditions on Salahi’s practice. He is “not permitted to perform a manual lymphatic drainage technique on any patient, for any purpose,” and he must not “massage any patient, for any purpose, in the area between rib 2 and rib 9.”

Salahi must also post notices stating those two limits on all online booking pages associated with his practice, as well as in any waiting room of any clinic in which he works and in any room where he works.

The notices posted in physical spaces must be printed on standard-size paper, in large font, and must be posted in English and any other language he uses to communicate with patients.

“The registrant is only required to post a physical notice on the days he is working at a clinic,” the college’s notice reads.

Salahi is also required to provide to the college the name and contact information for every patient he treated in the preceding week by 6 p.m. Friday, and he must allow “random on-site audits of his practice” by the college while the interim order is in effect.

According to the college, the investigation into Salahi’s conduct began after a complaint from “an employee of a national health-care provider,” who had received their information from another employee who was a patient of Salahi.

“Having weighed the different options and the circumstances, and having considered the impact on Mr. Salahi, the panel concluded that the above-described limits and conditions were proportionate and sufficient to protect the public during the investigation or pending any discipline hearing,” the college’s notice reads.