"An internal document drafted by the Erie St. Clair local health integration unit (LHIN), which oversees the Windsor-area hospitals, claimed six patients were misdiagnosed by the same pathologist involved in Johnston’s case.
The document, which would have been distributed to senior managers at the LHIN, also claimed that two of the patients underwent unnecessary surgeries and attributed the error, in part, because Dr. Olive Williams had cataracts.
The LHIN said it sent the information to the ministry Feb. 11 — before Johnston went public with her story and Laporte came forward, which sparked several investigations.
But Health Minister Deb Matthews said she learned about the mistakes only in mid-February, when Johnston went public with her story, and called a provincial probe in March."
REPORTER MARIA BABBAGE: THE CANADIAN PRESS;
PHOTO: DR. OLIVE WILLIAMS;
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BACKGROUND: During the past two years, this Blog has reported on a crisis in Canadian pathology indicated by serious breakdowns in hospitals in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Ontario and elsewhere in the country. The purpose, beyond seeking review and reform, is to show that the wide-ranging problems with pathology in Canada were not limited to the criminal sector - and that serious errors, sometimes lethal, were being made in reading test results on living patients. In short, that there was a crisis in Canadian pathology.
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"The governing Liberals should apologize to two women whose breasts were removed after they were mistakenly diagnosed with cancer and explain why they didn’t move sooner to warn the public that other errors may have been made, critics demanded Wednesday," the Canadian Press story by reporter Maria Babbage, published on July 28, 2010, under the heading, "Mistaken mastectomy victims should get apology from government: Critic," begins.
"Laurie Johnston is suing her surgeon, pathologist and two hospitals in the Windsor-area over the mistaken surgery, which she claims has impeded her ability to work," the story continues.
"Janice Laporte, who also had her breast mistakenly removed by the same surgeon — Dr. Barbara Heartwell — in 2001, also sued and her case was concluded in 2002.
Given that people can now apologize in Ontario without admitting liability, the Liberals should take advantage of their own law and tell the women they’re sorry, said Conservative MPP and health critic Christine Elliott.
It’s the right thing to do, added NDP MPP and health critic France Gélinas.
“Think about it: you trusted the system enough that they convince you that you were sick when you were not, and they convince you to have drastic surgery that you didn’t need,” Gélinas said.
“Something went drastically wrong. The least you can do is apologize.”
The government also needs to explain why it didn’t come out and warn patients in the Windsor area when it discovered that other mistakes may have been made, they said.
“There’s a lot of question marks there, and its not fair to leave people hanging like that,” said Elliott.
An internal document drafted by the Erie St. Clair local health integration unit (LHIN), which oversees the Windsor-area hospitals, claimed six patients were misdiagnosed by the same pathologist involved in Johnston’s case.
The document, which would have been distributed to senior managers at the LHIN, also claimed that two of the patients underwent unnecessary surgeries and attributed the error, in part, because Dr. Olive Williams had cataracts.
The LHIN said it sent the information to the ministry Feb. 11 — before Johnston went public with her story and Laporte came forward, which sparked several investigations.
But Health Minister Deb Matthews said she learned about the mistakes only in mid-February, when Johnston went public with her story, and called a provincial probe in March.
The findings of that investigation into pathology results in the Windsor area are expected to be delivered to Matthews this week.
“We acted quickly to actually understand the whole issue,” she said. “I look forward to the release of that report very soon.”
Doctors are also required to report a mistake to the hospital administration — not just the patient — under a new law that was “informed” by the Windsor cases, Matthews said.
“It didn’t make sense to me either that the hospital was not informed,” she said.
Windsor’s Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital, where Johnston underwent the mastectomy, has said it first learned of the mistake through the media and has apologized for the error.
Williams, who is named in Johnston’s lawsuit, has denied in court documents that she was negligent or misdiagnosed Johnston.
However, her law firm declined to comment on the claims that five other patients were misdiagnosed and that Williams had poor eyesight.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is also investigating Heartwell and Williams."
The story can be found at:
http://www.healthzone.ca/health/newsfeatures/article/841277--mistaken-mastectomy-victim-should-get-apology-from-government-critic
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
