Regulator imposes restrictions on city MD, orders $30-K payment after standards, ethics breached

A Winnipeg doctor has been ordered to pay $30,000 after admitting she failed to conduct proper physical examinations, falsified a medical record and intentionally misled investigators from the provincial physician watchdog.

Dr. Nazmun Nahar Bhuiyan appeared before a College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba panel in November and pleaded guilty to the offences, and others, stemming from five patient complaints made between 2021 and 2023.

The Free Press attended the hearing but was unable to name Bhuiyan at the time, owing to a publication ban that was not lifted until the panel released its final decision this week.

“Having considered all the evidence, the panel has concluded that Dr. Bhuiyan breached the regulation, the Standards of Practice and the Code of Ethics in her care of patients,” reads the decision.

Three of the complaints involved instances in which the doctor failed to conduct physical examinations of her patients.

One patient said they visited the doctor after finding a lesion on their genitals they feared might be a sexually transmitted infection. The patient complained they did not receive an adequate physical assessment, and the doctor did not fully review their medical history or provide information about possible symptoms and treatments.

Another patient who visited the doctor while suffering from pain in her legs said she was not physically examined and instead referred for an X-ray without sufficient explanation.

The doctor also did not examine a child who experienced asthma symptoms. Instead, a receptionist provided the child’s mother a prescription for an inhaler and “all discussions of the child’s medical needs took place in the reception area in the presence of others,” the decision said.

In another instance, Bhuiyan told a patient diagnosed with bipolar disorder that she was no longer comfortable prescribing medications initially given to the patient by a psychiatrist. When the patient visited Bhuiyan’s clinic to renew a prescription, the doctor refused the request, it said.

Bhuiyan asked another patient — an adult — to bring her mother with her to future appointments. She later refused to see the woman without her mother present, the decision said.

In all cases, Bhuiyan admitted to misleading college investigators tasked with reviewing the complaints by misrepresenting her interactions with the patients. She also pleaded guilty to creating a false medical record related to the child patient.

Saul Simmonds, the lawyer who represented Bhuiyan during the hearing, described his client as a “likable, caring, concerned physician” who has made some mistakes, but “only wants the best for her patients.”

“You have before you someone who has been humbled by her own errors,” Simmonds told the panel. “It’s not an easy thing for any of us, particularly professionals, to recognize that we’ve made mistakes.”

Simmonds and Kathleen McCandless, senior legal counsel for the college’s complaints and investigations department, jointly recommended the college reprimand the doctor with a public statement and keep her under supervision with practice limitations.

She must report weekly to the college regarding her compliance with the agreement. She must also submit to an audit of her practice within six months, the decisions says.

It notes she has been practising under similar conditions since January 2023.

Bhuiyan agreed to pay $30,00 to cover the costs of the college’s investigation. Those payment will come in 30 instalments of $1,000 per month, beginning no later than March 1.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca