A Toronto physician has had her licence revoked after admitting to having a sexual courting with a most cancers affected person.
Theepa Sundaralingam, 37, a former oncologist with the Rouge Valley Health System, regarded at a disciplinary listening to on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario on Wednesday on allegations of expert misconduct.
Staring immediately beforehand with a clean expression, she listened because the information of the connection have been examine aloud.
What commenced as flirting developed into sexual touching and intercourse — once in a while on the hospital, different instances on the affected person’s own circle of relatives home, the disciplinary panel heard.
All the while, Sundaralingam persevered to deal with the person, who can’t be diagnosed because of a guide ban.
The panel heard that seven months into the connection, Sundaralingam informed the person she’d fallen in love with a colleague and broke off the affair. Shortly afterward, she refused to peer him or deal with him.
Her behaviour become deemed “sexual abuse and disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional conduct,” in an agreed-upon declaration of facts.
Sundaralingam become, in keeping with her affected person, “the person that each controlled my fitness and furnished me with emotional assist at some point of most cancers treatment.
“She become the identical man or woman who deserted me at my maximum prone point,” he stated in a sufferer effect declaration examine aloud through a lawyer.
“I become bodily emaciated and emotionally uncovered and the lack of a crucial courting defeated me,” he persevered. “I sense abused and it is very tough as a male to pop out and say that approximately a female.”
After a quick deliberation, Sundaralingam become informed she become dropping her licence and ordered to position up a protection of $16,000 for any remedy her former affected person would possibly need. She become additionally ordered to pay $6,000 — the price of Wednesday’s proceedings.
“Your moves are abhorrent and reprehensible. Even if revocation become now no longer mandatory, the committee might have made such an order,” one of the panel individuals stated.
Asked as she become leaving the listening to if she had some thing to mention approximately the choice, Sundaralingam’s lawyer, Jenny Stephenson, replied: “No comment.”
In a declaration, the Scarborough Health Network of which Rouge Valley is a part, stated it “is dedicated to making sure the fitness and protection of all our patients. We will flow ahead according with the choice of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.”
