Doctors call for investigation into naturopath who testified in child's meningitis death

An Alberta naturopath, who testified in court about a child's meningitis death, is being investigated for her role in treating the toddler.

The court found Ezekiel Stephan's parents responsible for his death, for failing to provide the boy the necessities of life. 

The 19-month-old died of bacterial meningitis in March, 2012 after being treated with natural remedies.

Now a group of doctors has asked a regulatory body in Alberta, where the family lived, to investigate the conduct of Tracey Tannis, the naturopath who David and Collet Stephan consulted when their son was ill.

To me it seemed as though there was a real accountability gap in what had been going on in terms of the naturopath's care of this child.- Dr. Michelle Cohen, family physician

Dr. Michelle Cohen drafted the open letter to the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta (CNDA), which was signed by 43 physicians.

"To me it seemed as though there was a real accountability gap in what had been going on in terms of the naturopath's care of this child," Dr. Cohen tells As it Happens host Carol Off. 

Cohen says the CNDA has already responded to her concerns. It is treating the letter as an official complaint, which will be investigated.

She believes that the naturopath should be investigated for "some sort of role" in Ezekiel's death, and says only an investigation can determine what that was. 

"Someone had told (the mother) this would be a good treatment for your child and it wasn't and ultimately it was a few days later he died." says Cohen, who practices family medicine in Brighton, Ontario.