Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashoranti, guilty of giving an inappropriate exam, loses appeal
A Pugwash, N.S. doctor has failed in his bid to get the Supreme Court of Canada to hear about his fight with the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons.
This morning, the court dismissed an appeal bid by Dr. Oluwarotimi Fashoranti. As usual in such cases, the court offered no explanation for its refusal.
Fashoranti was trying appeal a decision from the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
Fashoranti turned to the courts after the College of Physicians and Surgeons disciplined him for inappropriate behaviour with a patient.
When the College ruled against him, Fashoranti took his case to the Court of Appeal.
A female patient accused Fashoranti of fondling her breasts during a visit she made to the All Saints Hospital in Springhill in 2010.
A five-member panel from the College of Physicians and Surgeons ruled the doctor performed an inappropriate exam, but it dismissed a second charge that he had an inappropriate interaction with the woman.
The disciplinary panel imposed a three-month suspension on Fashoranti's medical licence. It also required him to have a chaperone present any time he examined a female patient and to undergo a special course on understanding boundaries.
The penalties were put on hold while the college awaited the outcome of Fashoranti's legal appeals.
On Thursday afternoon, Dr. Gus Grant, the registrar of the college, told CBC News Fashoranti's suspension will begin in a week.
A week "would allow for the orderly winding up of his practice," Grant said.
"[Fashoranti] has exhausted every legal avenue available to him," Grant added.
The Supreme Court also awarded costs to the college for the expense of preparing a response to Fashoranti's appeal.
Grant said the college will be pursuing costs, but he said he won't know the dollar amount involved until he speaks to legal counsel.
Fashoranti must also pay the cost of the college's disciplinary hearing process.
In a criminal trial, a jury found Fashoranti not guilty of sexual assault for the same incident.
