WINNIPEG (CBC) - The doctor at the centre of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's review of pathology tests is Robert Stark, the former head of the department at St. Boniface Hospital, CBC News has confirmed.

Stark declined requests from CBC News for an interview. The WRHA refused to comment Friday on the identity of the doctor.

Stark was put on leave last week after a review uncovered errors in 10 of 35 selected complex cases reviewed.

Further review determined that three of the errors could have affected the treatment or diagnoses of prostate-cancer patients, officials said Wednesday.

Another 700 of his cases are currently under review by an external pathologist, said officials with the WRHA and Diagnostic Services Manitoba.

On Wednesday, officials said 289 of those reviews had been completed, and 14 of the cases will undergo further review by other pathologists with specialized expertise and cancer specialists.

Stark graduated from medical school in Scotland in 1957, and is in his mid-70s. Until a couple of years ago, he was head of St. Boniface's pathology department.

Manitoba does not currently require doctors to be regularly reassessed.

Bill Pope, spokesman for the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, said starting next year, the college will require Manitoba physicians to undergo continuing professional development every five years to ensure their skills are up to date.

"I think it will be an important first step, and I think it will be our responsibility - along with all of the other organizations - to look at what other methods can be introduced in the future," he said.

Currently, the process is more informal: it is up to the doctors themselves and their bosses to review performance over time, and department heads are in charge of the process, Pope said.

"That's the primary first line."

Health officials said they expect to complete reviews of the cases involving the doctor by the end of May.

Doctors will discuss any changes in pathology diagnoses with their patients and inform them if there is a need to change treatment. If patients require additional treatment, it will be expedited, officials said.

Manitobans with any questions about the situation can call a WRHA hotline at (204) 788-8004.

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