QUEEN’S PARK – Progressive Conservative Deputy Leader and Health Critic, MPP Christine Elliott, was recently made aware of another serious case of pathology errors involving a Kingston resident who now has terminal stage malignant melanoma. As a result, Elliott is calling on the Ontario Government to take immediate action on recommendations provided by a recent report on pathology at Windsor area hospitals and for immediate investigation of the work of the pathologist involved.
Two of the key recommendations in the report indicate that the Province must support the development and implementation of a provincial quality assurance system to establish standards and guidelines for pathology across Ontario.
In 2007, the patient's family doctor sent a skin lesion for biopsy to a commercial laboratory - family doctors are obliged by OHIP to use these labs rather than local hospital labs. The lesion was diagnosed as benign by the pathologist at the commercial lab. A year and a half later, the patient was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. This led to questioning of the pathologist's work, and it was discovered that he had misdiagnosed the lesion. Had it been properly diagnosed in 2007, the patient would have received a simple treatment with a very high success rate.
Earlier this year, it was discovered that a second Kingston area patient was misdiagnosed by the same pathologist.
When the issue of potential misdiagnoses of Windsor patients first came to light earlier this year, Elliott expressed concerns that the issues may not be isolated in the Windsor area and urged the government to take a province-wide look at pathology practices.
Quotes“All too often, government commissioned reports are released, only to sit on a shelf and collect dust. A very urgent issue has been uncovered here, and Ontario families deserve action from this government and a complete follow through on the report’s recommendations.” -- Christine Elliott, Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition, PC Health Critic
“There must be an immediate review of the work of the pathologist who misdiagnosed me and the other Kingston another patient. There is a significant possibility of other patients being at grave risk.” -- Nick Bala, Queen’s University Law Professor and patient with terminal stage melanoma
“The Investigation highlighted the critical importance of quality and safety in pathology. Although individual hospitals can do a lot to improve their pathology processes, there is a need for a broader provincial quality assurance system to guide individual efforts. A recent symposium of key stakeholders involved or interested in quality assurance for Ontario’s laboratory physicians came to the same conclusion. The stakeholders noted that a major gap is a comprehensive framework for quality management. Although various organizations and jurisdictions have developed quality assurance practices based on peer assessment, auditing and correlational analyses, there is no consistent approach to pathology quality assurance in Ontario.” -- Report of the Investigators of Surgical and Pathology Issues at Three Essex County Hospitals, Page 46
Amanda Meek amanda.meek@pc.ola.org
