Professional Conduct report May 2022

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Dr. Wequar Ahmad’s permit to practise medicine cancelled

A CPSA Hearing Tribunal cancelled the registration and practice permit of Dr. Wequar Ahmad, a general practitioner from Calgary, after he was found guilty of unprofessional conduct in 2021.

Background

The charges against Dr. Ahmad included repeatedly failing to comply with a CPSA undertaking requiring he have a chaperone present when treating female patients, engaging in a sexual relationship with a patient, creating false entries in that patient’s chart and failing to report the relationship with his patient to CPSA.

After issuing a written decision on merits, the Hearing Tribunal reconvened in late 2021 and early 2022 to determine sanction and found cancellation was an appropriate penalty given the seriousness of Dr. Ahmad’s misconduct. Dr. Ahmad can apply to CPSA’s Registrar for reinstatement in three years.

In addition to the cancellation of his practice permit, Dr. Ahmad is also responsible for 25 per cent of the costs of the investigation and hearing, up to a maximum of $12,500. Dr. Ahmad has not been in practice since 2018—he voluntarily withdrew at the request of CPSA’s Complaints Director when these allegations were first reported. The Tribunal’s full decision can be reviewed on CPSA’s website.

Learnings

When a complaint is investigated and sanctions are determined, a physician’s conduct is assessed against the standards in place at the time of the incident. While a sexual relationship with a patient has always been a clear boundary violation and a breach of CPSA’s standards, if the conduct occurred prior to April 1, 2019, and the implementation of An Act to Protect Patients (which it did in this case), it will be assessed against previous legislation, which did not include mandatory sanctions for sexual boundary violations.

CPSA believes in learning and providing physicians with opportunities for practice improvement. Practice permit cancellation is a last resort, considered only if such a serious sanction reflects the severity of the physician’s unprofessional conduct.