Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismisses appeal to reinstate privileges for hospital physician
Counsel to Health Sciences North.
Lead by
Shukla v. Board of Directors, Health Sciences North, 2022 ONSC 7141
In a December 20, 2022 decision, Justice Janet Leiper of the Ontario Superior Court (Divisional Court) dismissed a motion for urgent interim relief to restore hospital privileges previously held by a physician (the “Appellant”) at Health Sciences North (the “Hospital”) against the Hospital Board of Directors and the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (“HPARB”).
The Appellant had been a member of the active staff at the Hospital until 2018. Following a hearing before the Hospital Board of Directors, the Board of the Hospital accepted the recommendations of the Hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee and immediately revoked the Appellant’s privileges.
The Appellant appealed the Hospital Board’s decision before the HPARB by way of a hearing de novo. He brought a motion before HPARB to restore his Hospital privileges pending the completion of the hearing de novo. He was unsuccessful in his motion before HPARB. He then brought an urgent Judicial review to challenge the HPARB motion decision. The Judicial Review is scheduled for May 2024. The December 20, 2022 decision pertains to an urgent motion he brought for injunctive relief allowing him to resume his practice at the hospital pending his appeal to the HPARB or his judicial review of HPARB’s decision, which ever came first.
The Court dismissed the Appellant’s motion, finding that the Appellant has not met the modified RJR-MacDonald test entitling him to an order staying the revocation of his hospital privileges pending judicial review of the HPARB’s decision on its motion.
Lisa Spiegel (Health), F. Paul Morrison, John Chapman and Amanda Perumal (Commercial Litigation) of Miller Thomson represented the Hospital Board of Directors in the dispute.