PATHOLOGY CRISIS IN CANADA; WINDSOR, ONTARIO. REPORT ON SURGICAL ERRORS TO BE RELEASED WEDNESDAY AUGUST 4, 2010, AS LAWSUITS LOOM;

"Lead investigator Dr. Barry McLellan, the province's former chief coroner and CEO of Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, will present his team's findings and recommendations to the media at a downtown Windsor hotel.

In March, the Ontario government sent investigators to Windsor after reports of unnecessary mastectomies and pathology mistakes made national headlines.

Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital surgeon Dr. Barbara Heartwell was briefly suspended from the operating room in February after it was revealed that she performed two needless mastectomies on women who never had breast cancer in 2009 and 2001. At the same time, Hotel-Dieu announced it had suspended pathologist Dr. Olive Williams, who is accused of making several errors in her reports.

Williams, who analysed slides for all three area hospitals, has since resigned. Heartwell's surgical privileges were reinstated after Hotel-Dieu's board of directors decided she didn't pose a risk to patient safety."

REPORTER SONJA PUZIK: THE WINDSOR STAR;

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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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"WINDSOR, Ont. -- A highly anticipated Ontario Ministry of Health report on pathology and surgical errors in Windsor will be released Wednesday morning," the story by reporter Sonja Puzic, published earlier today under the heading, "Report on surgical errors to be released Wednesday," begins.

"Lead investigator Dr. Barry McLellan, the province's former chief coroner and CEO of Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, will present his team's findings and recommendations to the media at a downtown Windsor hotel," the story continues.

"In March, the Ontario government sent investigators to Windsor after reports of unnecessary mastectomies and pathology mistakes made national headlines.

Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital surgeon Dr. Barbara Heartwell was briefly suspended from the operating room in February after it was revealed that she performed two needless mastectomies on women who never had breast cancer in 2009 and 2001. At the same time, Hotel-Dieu announced it had suspended pathologist Dr. Olive Williams, who is accused of making several errors in her reports.

Williams, who analysed slides for all three area hospitals, has since resigned. Heartwell's surgical privileges were reinstated after Hotel-Dieu's board of directors decided she didn't pose a risk to patient safety.

Lawsuits have been launched against both doctors, but none of the allegations have been proven in court. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is also investigating Heartwell and Williams.

The ministry investigators looked at quality of care and treatment of patients at Hotel-Dieu, Windsor Regional Hospital and Leamington District Memorial Hospital."

The story can be found at:

http://www.windsorstar.com/Report+surgical+errors+released+Wednesday/3355235/story.html

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;