Change will help ensure serious complaints about Manitoba doctors are handled quickly: regulator

The regulator for doctors in Manitoba says it has a new triage system for complaints about its members that will let it respond to the most serious cases faster.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba says its newly implemented analytics unit will help it determine what course of action is needed on complaints as soon as they come in.

"That way, we can pick out when we're seeing complaints that are really, really serious, and act on them really quickly," said Dr. Guillaume Poliquin, assistant registrar of complaints and investigations for the college, which self-regulates the medical profession in Manitoba.

Under the new analytics process implemented on July 7, "once we receive that concern, it will be screened, and then it will come to me for initial review," Poliquin told guest host Faith Fundal in a Thursday interview with CBC's Information Radio.

"If it's something that sounds … serious, like a boundary violation, then we essentially drop all we're doing and focus on that."

Previously, when the college received complaints about a physician, it would determine the "best process for resolution" and "send it down that path," with the analysis happening after the fact — which could prove problematic, Poliquin said.

"Because once you get into the details of a case, you can find out, 'Oh, the complaint was about the wrong doctor,'" or "the concern that was brought forward, which sounded OK … was actually really, really serious, and we should have acted on this sooner," he said. 

Poliquin spoke to CBC after confirming the college is "engaged" with Birchwood Medical Clinic in Winnipeg, following complaints about a family doctor working there.

CBC spoke to 11 former and current patients and staff members of Dr. Christina Winogrodzka, who described different versions of the same themes, including delays in accessing medical records needed for either disability benefits or medical referrals, and delays in accessing medical results because, they allege, they were lost.

One former patient told CBC that years ago, she'd tried to complain to the College of Physicians and Surgeons about Winogrodzka, but changed her mind after she was cautioned by the college that she'd have a hard time finding a new general practitioner.

Other patients of Winogrodzka echoed those concerns, saying they too feared they would lose access to a family doctor if they complained.

'Power imbalance'

The college recognizes "it's a really significant concern," Poliquin said.

"I have a lot of sympathy and empathy for people who feel that power imbalance."

The college has a directive in place that states no one should lose their family doctor because they've made a complaint, "and we do enforce that," he said.

He expanded on that in a followup written statement.

"If we receive a report that a physician has breached those expectations, this may result in an investigation into professional misconduct being added to the overall review," he wrote.

Last month, Helena Friesen — the former patient who had earlier tried to complain about Winogrodzka — submitted a new complaint to the college.

Christine Edwards, a former employee of Winogrodzka's, filed a separate complaint about the doctor with the college last month.

The college confirmed as a result, it is "engaged" with the clinic, but would not provide further details.