Surgeon suing Western Health accused of incompetence by other doctors

A general surgeon is suing Western Health, saying its leaders and a group of specialists unfairly forced him to take a leave of absence from his practicein Newfoundland and Labrador.

Dr. MylvaganamKathirgamanathan, who is known in Newfoundland as Dr. Mylo Kathir, has filed a statement of claim saying the health authority bowed to pressure from other doctors who refused to work with him.

"Western Health caused Dr. Kathirto suffer damages, including harm to his professional reputation and loss of income," according to the claim, filed September 2016.

But the health authority, in its own statement to the court, saysit has heard significant concerns about Kathir's competence.

Relationship began changing in 2015

Kathir, who practised in Newfoundland and Labrador for about 25 years, advised Western Health in 2016 that he was taking a leave of absence.

He said his trouble with the health authoritybegan the previous year, when its officialsstarted giving his operating room time to other surgeons.

Western Health improperly and unlawfully accepted andacquiescedto the decision by the Department ofPerioperativeMedicine.- MyloKathirgamanathan'sstatement of claim

In court documents, Kathirsays that when he complained about it, the chief of surgery at Western Memorial Hospital, Dr. Peter Blackwood, suggested he should resign or retire.

"Dr. Blackwoodsaid if Dr. Kathir resigned, then Dr. Blackwood (and others) could make the allegations against him by other physicians go away," says Kathirin the statement of claim.

According to the documents,Kathir'slawyer filed in St. John's, Western Health officials told him resigning would be easier than what might happen if he continued to try working.

"Dr. Blackwood told Dr. Kathir that if Western Health referred the allegations against him to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland [it]would suspend or remove Dr. Kathir's medical licence and he would be miserable."

According to that same document, "Dr. Blackwood told Dr. Kathirnot to waste time with legal action."

Ultimatum from other doctors

In December 2015,Kathir also met with Western Health leaders to discuss criticism of him by general practitioners in Port aux Basques.

Tension came to a head in February 2016, when all members of Western Memorial hospital's perioperativedepartment wrote that they had decided to withdrawanesthesiology services for Kathir, providing two lists of patients who supported that.

"Members of the department claimed that Dr. Kathir's treatment of the patients listed on it was improper," says Kathir'sclaim.

Kathir'sstatement of claim saysthe department had not brought the concerns of patients to his attention before the letters.

"Western Health improperly and unlawfully accepted andacquiescedto the decision by the Department ofPerioperativeMedicine," it said in the claim.

The health authority "knew or ought to have known that members of the Department of PerioperativeMedicine, all being anesthetists, were not clinically knowledgeable about the practice of general surgery, nor qualified orlicenced to practice general surgery."

Did nothing wrong, says health authority

In Its statement of defence, the health authority says it did nothing wrong, that it has heard significant concerns aboutKathir'scompetence, and the process of dealing with those complaints is ongoing.

In court documents filed in April 2017,Western Health saidit has not removed Kathir's hospital admitting privileges norhas it terminated its relationship with him as a fee-for-service surgeon.

It is asking that his court claim be dismissed, with costs.

Lawyer Bern Coffeyis representing Kathir.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador confirmed thatKathirno longer has a licence to practise medicine in the province.