Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashoranti disciplined again by College of Physicians and Surgeons
Fashoranti's care of woman in extreme pain suggests 'clinical assessment was wrong,' decision says
A Nova Scotia doctor who's already been disciplined by the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons has been reprimanded by the college for treatment he gave a woman who was in excruciating pain.
Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashoranti has been reprimanded over his treatment of the woman, identified in the college decision only by the pseudonym Patient M, in January 2014. She later died six months after leaving his care.
According to the decision, "Dr. Fashoranti reportedly refused to admit her after a malignant and infected cyst on her neck ruptured, causing severe pain."
Fashoranti told the woman there were no beds available. Eight days later, she was prescribed antibiotics by another doctor. She had to go to hospital three times a day to receive antibiotics by IV. She was later given a pump to administer the drugs at home.
The following month, the woman was taken to hospital with increased pain, vomiting and diarrhea. She was told there were no beds available but she refused to leave.
According to the college decision, the woman's family and Fashoranti battled frequently over her treatment, including what medication she was to receive.
Another doctor had concerns
Her husband noted that at one point while she was under Fashoranti's care, she was receiving double the dose of morphine she'd been taking at home and she was having adverse symptoms.
In addition to the complaint from the woman's husband, the college also heard from another doctor who voiced concerns about the care provided by Fashoranti. That doctor treated Patient M one time when Fashoranti wasn't available and found her chart was incomplete.
The physician also told the college nurses seemed very uncomfortable with the woman's status and felt she was suffering a great deal.
The college's investigative committee found that Fashoranti "appears to have believed that Patient M was actively dying," but when the patient was transferred to a different physician the patient quickly improved to survive for six months.
"Although the Committee recognizes that medicine can be unpredictable, the course of events for this patient certainly suggests that Dr. Fashoranti's clinical assessment was wrong in this instance."
Reprimand and restrictions
The investigative committee found this to be "a tragic case of a woman who died prematurely," the college noted in its decision.
"They identified extensive areas of concern regarding both Dr. Fashoranti's care, the documentation of his care and his judgment."
At the same time, the committee noted that Patient M "had been diagnosed with a disease that had reached its limits of curative therapy and that her family understood her prognosis."
In addition to the official reprimand, the college has imposed restrictions on Fashoranti's licence. Those restrictions include that he take a course on documentation and that his practice be subject to regular monitoring and auditing.
In trouble before
This is not the first time Fashoranti has been in trouble for his medical practices.
A female patient accused Fashoranti of fondling her breasts during a visit she made to the All Saints Hospital in Springhill in 2010.
A five-member panel from the College of Physicians and Surgeons ruled the doctor performed an inappropriate exam, but it dismissed a second charge that he had an inappropriate interaction with the woman.
The disciplinary panel imposed a three-month suspension on Fashoranti's medical licence. It also required him to have a chaperone present any time he examined a female patient and to undergo a special course on understanding boundaries.
Fashoranti fought that disciplinary decision all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, which refused to hear his case.