Northern Ontario doctor's licence revoked due to misconduct
CBC
A discipline tribunal by the College of Physicians and and Surgeons of Ontario has resulted in a northern Ontario doctor having his registration revoked.
On Tuesday, a tribunal was held for Patrick Philips. Phillips worked as an emergency room physician in Englehart, Ont. before being investigated for misconduct.
"We are dismayed by the deliberate steps you took to undermine the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic," the tribunal report states.
"As a physician, the information you communicate is trusted by many. Your communications to colleagues, patients and your thousands of followers on social media regarding COVID-19 and public health response measures were careless, often offensive and at times, possibly harmful."
The tribunal found Phillips engaged in "disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct, failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession, failed to respond appropriately or within a reasonable time to a written inquiry from the College.
It also states Phillips contravened his conditions of his medical registration in relation to:
"The panel is troubled by your deliberate and coordinated attempts to deter the public from complying with public health measures. By doing so, you heightened public fear during a global public health crisis."
Phillips posted his thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic on Twitter, where he once had a sizeable presence. Nearly 40,000 users followed him on Twitter before his account was suspended. He has since started a new account which has more than 53,000 followers.
In Sept. 25, 2021, Phillips posted on Twitter a comparison between the pandemic-related public health measures and the treatment of people with disabilities in Nazi Germany.
He also called Ontario's vaccine certificate system "illegal" and claimed it would be used to "deny medical care, food, banking and shelter," to unvaccinated people.
The tribunal on Tuesday ordered Phillips attend before the panel to be reprimanded, that his certificate of registration be revoked immediately and that he pay the college $6,000.
The college said it will post the reasons for its decision at a later date.
CBC Sudbury has reached out to Phillips for comment but hasn't heard back.
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