Nova Scotia doctor Bradley Atkinson suspended from practising medicine

A Sheet Harbour, N.S., family doctor who has long been under drug-prescribing restrictions is facing a new investigation and has now been suspended from practising medicine.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia announced Tuesday it had suspended Dr. Bradley Atkinson due to a new complaint. The college will not detail the nature of the allegation.

Dr. Gus Grant, the CEO of the college, said the suspension is interim, is not the final disposition and was made while investigating the new complaint.

"In the opinion of the investigation committee it was appropriate in the interest of public safety to impose this suspension on Dr. Atkinson until further notice," said Grant.

History of issues

Atkinson has been under the college's scrutiny before.

He was reprimanded and placed under a number of conditions in November after the college looked into two complaints regarding prescriptions he wrote for narcotics. The doctor was already under drug-prescribing restrictions dating back to 2008. 

The new interim suspension means Atkinson is unable to practise medicine, but he is responsible for making sure his patients can get reasonable access to their chart materials. 

"This is an extraordinary measure ... This is a measure taken by a committee when it has reasonable grounds of concern for public safety," said Grant.

Previous complaints against Atkinson

In its Nov. 20 decision, the college said Atkinson was "flippant" and didn't appreciate the importance of the college's discipline process. It also accused him of poor record keeping and ordered him to take a record-keeping course within the next three months.

The doctor had faced two complaints. In the first, Atkinson prescribed a 60-year-old patient Tylenol #3 in 2014 while restricted from doing so.

The second complaint involved Atkinson writing an order for morphine for a patient who was "actively dying." Of that incident, he told the college he "failed to understand the thought process when it turns this compassionate act into a complaint."

In 2008, Atkinson had his medical licence restricted after the college said they had concerns about his knowledge and skills when it came to treating patients with narcotics.

The restrictions were for one year. After that, Atkinson was responsible for getting a letter of support from the college so he could apply to Health Canada to have his privileges returned. The college said he never did that.