DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016

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1 Agenda Item: ROLE OF THE COMMITTEE DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 The Discipline Committee ( the Committee ) holds hearings at which panels of up to five Committee members (three nurses and two public members) adjudicate allegations of professional misconduct and/or incompetence. These allegations are referred by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC). Panels of the Committee also preside over prehearing conferences, pre-hearing motions and requests for reinstatement from individuals whose certificates of registration have been revoked. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES A. Panel Activities 1. Completed Matters (Table 1) Disciplinary matters are resolved by way of contested hearings or through non-contested hearings. Allegations are resolved or disposed of when: They are withdrawn or dismissed; No findings of professional misconduct and/or incompetence are made by a panel; or Findings of professional misconduct and/or incompetence are made and a penalty is ordered. In 2016, 43 matters involving 43 members were resolved. Between January and December 2016, findings of professional misconduct were made in 40 matters. In one matter, a panel granted the parties request to withdraw allegations of professional misconduct against a member. In two matters, all allegations were dismissed by panels. (a) Non-contested Matters (Table 2 and Table 3) Twenty-nine matters were resolved by panels accepting agreed statements of facts and/or joint penalty submissions presented by the College and the member. This represents 69.0% of all completed matters. On average, 0.78 hearing days 1 were required per matter. (b) Contested Matters (Table 2 and Table 3) Twelve contested matters, involving a total of hearing days, were resolved. The number of hearing days for contested matters ranged from 0.5 to 6.0 days with an average of 1.69 hearing days per matter. 1 A hearing day is approximately seven hours. Page 1 of 10

2 (c) Penalty Orders (Table 4) Table 4 Penalty orders were made in all of the 39 matters where findings of professional misconduct were made. Each penalty included an order of one or more of the following: 12 revocations; 20 suspensions; 23 terms, conditions and limitations; 34 reprimands; and 1 fine Terms, conditions and limitations ordered included monitoring or supervising of members practices and member education/remediation. 2. Hearing and Deliberation/Decision-Writing (Table 5) In 2016, panels completed days of hearing, deliberation and decision-writing across 44 matters days were hearing days, 0.25 for one removal of information request hearing and 6.25 days were deliberation/decision-writing days. The administration of reprimands commonly occurs immediately following hearings, and the time spent on this administration is included in the calculation of hearing days. In 2016, 0.50 days were spent administering reprimands at proceedings specifically convened for that purpose. 3. Release of Decision and Reasons (Table 6) For agreement hearings, decisions may be released verbally the same day or within 24 hours after the presentation of the evidence and the parties conclude their submissions. Written decisions and reasons may take longer to prepare and release. The period between the conclusion of the hearing and the release of written decision and reasons can be impacted by the complexity of legal and evidentiary issues raised in the matter. Other factors that can impact this period are logistical issues related to the availability of panel members and/or issues related to the electronic file sharing used during the decision-writing process. Thirty-two written decision and reasons were released between January 1 and December 31, This number includes some matters that were heard in The Discipline Committee Guidelines set out that, in the absence of written approval of the Chair of the Committee, decisions and reasons of Discipline panels will be issued within 60 days of the conclusion of the hearing. In 16 matters, written decisions and reasons were released within 60 days of the conclusion of the hearing. In 16 matters, the 60-day guideline was exceeded. Page 2 of 10

3 (a) Released decisions and reasons for non-contested matters (Table 7) The decision and reasons for 13 non-contested matters (52.0%) were released within 60 days from the conclusion of the hearing. (b) Released decisions and reasons for contested matters (Table 7) The decision and reasons for four contested matters (57.0%) were released within 60 days. In the remaining three contested matters (43.0%), the decision and reasons were released 61 days or more from the last hearing date. B. Committee Activities 1. Matters in Progress (Table 8) The number of matters in progress varies in relation to: The number of matters referred; Requests for postponements of hearings and pre-hearings; Adjournments granted; and The length of time required for decision writing. On December 31, 2016, four pre-hearings and 20 hearings were scheduled for Discussions were underway for scheduling an additional six pre-hearings and three hearings. At that time, there were two hearings in progress, and decision-writing was occurring for eight matters. Three matters were adjourned in 2016 and held in abeyance, awaiting resolution in other jurisdictions. 2. Length of Time from Referral to Pre-Hearing/Hearing The Committee guidelines for matters moving through the discipline process require prehearings to be scheduled within four months and hearings to commence within nine months of referral from the ICRC. The length of time from referral to a pre-hearing and hearing is affected by several factors, including: Holding a matter in abeyance until the conclusion of related matters within the criminal justice system or other jurisdiction; Communication and logistical matters with self-represented members; and Accommodating scheduling issues of legal counsel, for one or both parties. (a) Referral to Pre-Hearing (Table 9) Of the 33 matters where pre-hearings were held in 2016, 18 matters (54.5%) had pre-hearing conferences held within four months or less from the date of referral. Page 3 of 10

4 (b) Referral to Commencement of Hearing (Table 10) Of the 44 hearings that commenced in 2016, 27 hearings (61.4 %) commenced in nine months or less from the date of referral from the ICRC. Nine hearings (20.4 %) began between 10 and 12 months from the referral date. Eight hearings (18.2%) commenced 13 months or more from the referral date. (c) Referral to Conclusion of Hearing (Table 11) The average number of months from the ICRC s referral to the conclusion of a hearing for matters resolved by agreement between the parties was 8.9 months, with a range of four to 24 months. The average number of months from referral to the conclusion of a hearing for contested matters was 8.4 months, with a range of seven and 14 months. C. Discipline Committee Meetings The Committee held meetings to discuss procedural and administrative items on May 10-12, 2016 and on October 5, Pre-hearing chairs and panel chairs also attended a workshop on February 11-12, A pilot decision writing workshop was held on October 31, Page 4 of 10

5 COMMITTEE MEMBERS June 2016 to December 2016 Michael Hogard, RPN, Chairperson Dawn Cutler, RN Renate Davidson, Public Member Samantha Diceman, RPN Spencer Dickson, RN Tanya Dion, RN David Edwards, RPN Catherine Egerton, Public Member Cheryl Evans, RN Grace Fox, NP Carly Gilchrist, RPN Tammy Hedge, RPN Terry Holland, RPN Shiraz Irani, RN Lina Kiskunas, RN Karen Laforet, RN Rob MacKay, Public Member Mary MacMillan-Gilkinson, Public Member Ashleigh Molloy, Public Member Winsome Plummer, RN Desiree-Ann Prillo, RPN Susan Roger, RN Donna Rothwell, RN George Rudanycz, RN Heather Stevanka, RN Margaret Tuomi, Public Member Devinder Walia, Public Member Cathy Ward, Public Member Chuck Williams, Public Member Ingrid Wiltshire-Stoby, RN January 2016 to June 2016 Michael Hogard, RPN, Chairperson Jim Attwood, RN Sarah Corkey, RN Renate Davidson, Public Member Samantha Diceman, RPN Spencer Dickson, RN Catherine Egerton, Public Member Cheryl Evans, RN Grace Fox, NP Tammy Hedge, RPN Zahir Hirji, RN Lindsay Hyslop, NP Shiraz Irani, RN Lina Kiskunas, RN Karen Laforet, RN Susannah McGeachy, NP Rob MacKay, Public Member Mary MacMillan-Gilkinson, Public Member Ashleigh Molloy, Public Member (from Sept. 2015) Winsome Plummer, RN April Plumton, RPN Susan Roger, RN Donna Rothwell, RN George Rudanycz, RN Laura Sanderson, RPN Carleen Shipley, RPN Barbara Titley, RPN Margaret Tuomi, Public Member Devinder Walia, Public Member Cathy Ward, Public Member Chuck Williams, Public Member STAFF CONTACTS Ravi Prathivathi, Manager, Finance and Administration, Corporate Services Department. Lesley Wright, Hearings Administrator, Corporate Services Department. Kurt Maben, Hearings Administrator, Corporate Services Department. Prudence Morton, Hearings Administrator, Corporate Services Department. Page 5 of 10

6 STATISTICAL TABLES A. Panel Activities Table 1. Completed matters Matters with: Findings All allegations withdrawn All allegations dismissed Total Table 2. Types of completed matters 1 Completed cases Non-contested matters Contested matters All allegations withdrawn Total For one matter, a panel of the Discipline Committee made findings on the liability portion of the allegations however the penalty hearing will be scheduled in Page 6 of 10

7 Table 3. Hearing days 2 for 2016 Completed matters Matters Total days Min. Max. Average days/case days/case days/case Non-contested matters Contested matters All allegations withdrawn matters Total Table 4. Penalty orders Penalty Types Reprimand Suspension Terms, conditions, limitations Revocation Fine Total # of matters with penalty orders A hearing day is approximately seven hours, measured in 0.25 day increments. Page 7 of 10

8 Table 5. Hearing and deliberation/decision-writing days DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE Activity days Hearings Hearing - Removal of Information Request Reinstatement hearings Deliberation/decisionwriting Administering Reprimands Total # of matters Table 6. Time from conclusion of hearing to release of decision and reasons Time 60 days or fewer days or more Total Table 7. Time from conclusion of hearing to release of decision and reasons in matters with agreements and contested matters Time Matters with agreements Contested matters # % # % 60 days or fewer days or more Total A panel of the Discipline Committee heard a removal of information request. This matter was not referred from the ICRC. 4 In addition to the reprimands issued immediately following hearings, two reprimands were issued for older penalty orders. Page 8 of 10

9 B. Committee Activities Table 8. Matters in progress on December 31, 2016 Matter Status Pre-hearing to be set Pre-hearing scheduled Hearing to be set Hearing scheduled Hearing in progress Deliberation Decision-writing Hold Adjournment Total Table 9. Time from referral to pre-hearing 5 Time # % # % 4 months or less months months months or more Total One reinstatement pre-hearing conference was held which was not referred by the ICRC. Page 9 of 10

10 Table 10. Time from referral to commencement of hearing 6 Time 9 months or less months months or more Total Table 11. Time from referral to conclusion of hearing Minimum months/case Maximum months/case Average months/case Matters with agreements Contested matters Two separate matters for two members which were adjourned previously were merged with new referrals from the ICRC. 7 There was one agreement hearing outlier. The matter was very complicated and took some time to schedule. Page 10 of 10