Singh had previous medical complaint lodged 3 years ago
CBC
A Summerside, P.E.I., psychiatrist who is the subject of a professional misconduct hearing this month had a separate complaint lodged against him more than three years ago.
That complaint against Dr. Arvind Singh is still unresolved, a board of inquiry convened by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of P.E.I. was told Monday.
The information was shared by one of Singh's lawyers, Janet Clark, as she sought to have a proposed expert witness disqualified from testifying.
Dr. Serge Lessard is a psychiatrist and an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Medicine.
The lawyers acting as prosecutors at the hearing wanted Lessard to give his opinion on the quality of care Singh provided to Laurel Hurst while she was a patient in the Prince County Hospital's psychiatric ward for nearly 15 months starting in January 2017.
However, Clark told the board Lessard couldn't be impartial because he was involved in an investigation three years ago into a separate complaint against Singh.
"You should not hear from Dr. Lessard at all. His objectivity has been compromised," Clark told the panel. "If you do hear from him, his report should not be admitted."
She said Lessard's findings at the time of the other complaint were not supportive of her client, and the complaint remains unresolved.
Clark said it involved an in-patient at Prince County Hospital under Singh's care.
Hurst's family is accusing Singh of abuse, poor communication and lack of knowledge over the care she received, saying it was inappropriate and cruel for someone who had been declared incompetent because her Huntington's disease had reached an advanced stage.
Singh denies all the allegations.
Clark's challenge against Lessard as a witness threw yet another wrinkle into the proceedings, with prosecutor Doug Drysdale saying: "This is all news to me."
Under questioning from Drysdale, Lessard said he made a conscious effort to remain unbiased in advance of the hearing over Hurst's treatment, knowing he had previously examined matters involving Singh.
For example, Lessard said he had not Googled any of the participants in the current inquiry.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
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