skip to content

Straka, Pavel Frantisek

CPSO#: 33493

MEMBER STATUS
Expired: Resigned from membership as of 30 Apr 2018
CURRENT OR PAST CPSO REGISTRATION CLASS
None as of 12 Dec 2015

Summary

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum ac diam sit amet quam vehicula elementum sed sit amet dui. Vivamus suscipit tortor eget felis porttitor volutpat. Curabitur non nulla sit amet nisl tempus convallis quis ac lectus. Curabitur aliquet quam id dui posuere blandit. Vivamus suscipit tortor eget felis porttitor volutpat. Curabitur arcu erat, accumsan id imperdiet et, porttitor at sem. Vestibulum ac diam sit amet quam vehicula elementum sed sit amet dui. Donec sollicitudin molestie malesuada. Pellentesque in ipsum id orci porta dapibus.

Former Name: No Former Name

Gender: Male

Languages Spoken: Czech, English

Education: University of Aberdeen School of Medicin, 1974

Practice Information

Primary Location of Practice
Practice Address Not Available

Professional Corporation Information


Corporation Name: Pavel Straka Medicine Professional Corporation
Certificate of Authorization Status: Inactive: Jul 10 2018

Hospital Privileges

No Privileges reported.


Hospital Notices

Source:  Hospital
Active Date:  October 25, 2017
Expiry Date:  
Summary:  
On February 9, 2018, Humber River Hospital notified the College that effective October 25, 2017, Dr. Pavel Straka voluntarily agreed to cease providing anaesthetic to paediatric patients at Humber River Hospital

Specialties

Specialty Issued On Type
Anesthesiology Effective:24 Nov 1983 RCPSC Specialist

Registration History

Action Issue Date
First certificate of registration issued: Postgraduate Education Certificate Effective: 20 Apr 1981
Expired: Terms and conditions of certificate of registration Expiry: 30 Jun 1982
Subsequent certificate of registration Issued: Independent Practice Certificate Effective: 09 Jul 1982
Transfer of class of certificate to: Restricted certificate Effective: 12 Dec 2015
Terms and conditions imposed on certificate Effective: 12 Dec 2015
Terms and conditions amended by Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee Effective: 23 Jan 2016
Terms and conditions amended by Discipline Committee Effective: 02 Jun 2016
Terms and conditions amended by Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee Effective: 13 Sep 2017
Terms and conditions amended by Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee Effective: 27 Sep 2017
Expired: Resigned from membership. Expiry: 30 Apr 2018

Previous Hearings

Committee: Discipline
Decision Date: 02 Jun 2016
Summary:

On June 2, 2016, the Discipline Committee found that Dr. Pavel Frantisek Straka has committed an act of professional misconduct in that he has failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession.

Dr. Straka is an anesthesiologist who received his certificate of independent practice in 1982. In February 2015, pursuant to an undertaking from Dr. Straka to the College, the College received an assessment report outlining concerns regarding deficiencies in Dr. Straka’s practice.

Dr. Straka provided the College with a report from an anesthesiologist after allegations were referred to discipline. The defence expert disagreed with the College assessor about some aspects of the care Dr. Straka provided but agreed there were deficiencies in Dr. Straka’s practice, including significant deficiencies in documentation and certain concerns regarding judgment and knowledge.

Dr. Straka failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession of anesthesiology in a hospital setting by:

- failing to document an appropriate pre-anesthetic assessment or to adequately document intraoperatively in his care of multiple patients;
- failing to document discussion of the risks and benefits of invasive procedures with multiple patients and not having any discussion with a patient regarding a transversus abdominis plane (TAPP) block which he later administered;
- when administering general anesthesia, inappropriately using 100 percent oxygen during the maintenance phase as a matter of routine in every case;
- failing to organize and prioritize medical issues in two complex patients undergoing emergency surgery; administering an inappropriately small dose of analgesic to a patient undergoing gynecological surgery, as indicated by the patient’s respiratory rate and end tidal carbon dioxide; and although Dr. Straka ultimately successfully intubated a patient after several attempts due to the patient’s difficult airway, there were concerns regarding Dr. Straka’s level of situational awareness. The patient experienced a marked hypertensive response as a result of an inadequate level of anesthesia for the multiple attempts at intubation, and Dr. Straka did not document the difficult airway, including the number of attempts.

Several recommendations were made in the February 2015 report, including that Dr. Straka practise under high level supervision with respect to critically ill patients, that the supervisor be immediately available when conducting airway management, that he engage a clinical preceptor for other aspects of his hospital practice, and that he take educational courses.

Dr. Straka practised under supervision pending the hearing as a result of an interim order in this proceeding. Since January 2016, the supervisor has reviewed and approved of all pre-operative assessments and treatment plans in advance of Dr. Straka providing general anesthesia, and has observed intubation in each case. The reports by Dr. Straka’s clinical supervisor have been positive.

In April 2016, an expert retained by Dr. Strakafound that Dr. Straka’s documentation had improved significantly, that his preoperative assessments were complete, and that there were no issues with Dr.Straka’s performing of technical tasks under observation. When observed by this expert, Dr. Straka discussed the risks and benefits of blocks with patients. However, the expert identified that Dr. Straka appeared to have some gaps in his knowledge, that his practice of doing regional anesthesia without monitoring was potentially unsafe, that his reaction to stress could lead to poor judgment, and that his management of complicated cases was an area for improvement. The expert recommended that Dr. Straka not do on-call coverage in anesthesia until completion of education and a reassessment, and that he continue to be subject to clinical supervision with pre-operative review of his plans for higher risk patients and the supervisor’s presence at intubation if necessary. The expert stated that the “gaps in [Dr. Straka’s] practice are remedial.”

PENALTY AND COSTS

The Discipline Committee ordered and directed:

2. Dr. Straka to attend before the panel to be reprimanded;

3. the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions and limitations on Dr. Straka’s certificate of registration:
(i) Subject to paragraphs 3(ii)(f) and 3(vi) below, Dr. Straka shall not perform anesthesia in a hospital setting on an on-call basis;
(ii) Dr. Straka shall retain a College-approved clinical supervisor or supervisors (the “Clinical Supervisor”) with respect to his hospital-based anesthesia practice, who will sign an undertaking in the form attached hereto as Schedule “A.” For a period of at least six (6) months commencing on the date this Order is made, Dr. Straka may practise hospital-based anesthesia only under the supervision of the Clinical Supervisor and will abide by all recommendations of his Clinical Supervisor with respect to his practice, including but not limited to practice improvements, practice management, and continuing education. Clinical supervision of Dr. Straka’s practice may end after a minimum of six (6) months, upon the recommendation of the Clinical Supervisor and, in its discretion, approval by the College.Clinical supervision of Dr. Straka’s hospital-based anesthesia practice shall contain the following elements:
a. Dr. Straka shall facilitate review by the Clinical Supervisor of twenty (20) patient charts per month or, should Dr. Straka treat fewer than twenty (20) hospital patients in any month, the charts of all patients treated in that month;
b. Dr. Straka shall have an initial meeting with his Clinical Supervisor regarding the process for obtaining and documenting patient consent, at which they will develop a plan regarding the same, and thereafter the Clinical Supervisor’s consideration of Dr. Straka’s consent process and documentation of the same shall form part of the monthly chart review described at paragraph 3(ii)(a) above;
c. Dr. Straka shall pre-operatively review with the Clinical Supervisor his plan for management of any patient who is a Class ASA 3 or higher anesthetic risk, as well as his plan for management of any patient with a known history of difficult intubation or whom Dr. Straka anticipates may have a difficult airway. During such review, Dr. Straka shall with his Clinical Supervisor identify when and how he will call for help during the procedure if required;
d. The Clinical Supervisor may be present for intubation of any patient, if deemed necessary or desirable by the Clinical Supervisor;
e. Dr. Straka shall have an initial meeting with his Clinical Supervisor regarding Dr. Straka’s practice with respect to nerve blocks, and thereafter consideration of Dr. Straka’s practice with respect to nerve blocks shall form part of the monthly chart review described at paragraph 3(ii)(a) above, and if deemed necessary or desirable by the Clinical Supervisor Dr. Straka shall also engage in pre-planning with his Clinical Supervisor regarding particular cases and permit the Clinical Supervisor to directly observe his practice regarding nerve blocks;
f. After four (4) months of Clinical Supervision, if agreed to by the Clinical Supervisor (which agreement may be withdrawn at any time), Dr. Straka may perform anesthesia on an on-call basis for the remainder of the period of Clinical Supervision under Clinical Supervision consisting of the following:
a)At least one (1) month during which the Clinical Supervisor shall directly observe Dr. Straka’s pre-anesthetic assessment, induction and emergence, and the Clinical Supervisor shall be immediately available during the remainder of the procedure in order to assist or consult with Dr. Straka if necessary or desirable;
b) Followed by, if the Clinical Supervisor is of the view that Dr. Straka is ready, at least one (1) further month during which Dr. Straka shall review the case with his Clinical Supervisor before its commencement and debrief the procedure with his Clinical Supervisor following its completion, with the Clinical Supervisor to observe the procedure if he or she deems it necessary or desirable to do so and in any case to be readily available to assist Dr. Straka if needed throughout the procedure.
(iii) Dr. Straka shall successfully complete and provide proof thereof to the College within six (6) months of the date of the Order:
a. Simulator-based education in anesthesia acceptable to the College;
b. Education in regional anesthesia acceptable to the College;
c. Education in difficult airway management acceptable to the College;
d. An evaluation of his practice knowledge acceptable to the College, to result in development and submission to the College of an individualized education plan within ninety (90) days of the date of the Order identifying any further education and remediation to be completed by Dr. Straka in response to any deficiencies in his knowledge identified by the evaluation, with Dr. Straka to complete such education and remediation within six (6) months of the date of the Order.
(iv) During the period of Clinical Supervision, Dr. Straka shall ensure prior to performing intubation that another anesthesiologist is present on the premises and available to assist him if necessary.
(v) If Dr. Straka fails to retain a Clinical Supervisor as required above or if, prior to completion of Clinical Supervision, the Clinical Supervisor is unable or unwilling to continue in that role for any reason, Dr. Straka shall retain a new College-approved Clinical Supervisor who will sign an undertaking in the form attached hereto as Schedule “A,” and shall cease to practise hospital-based anesthesia until the same has been delivered to the College.
(vi) Approximately four (4) months after the completion of Clinical Supervision, Dr. Straka shall undergo a reassessment of his hospital-based anesthesia practice by a College-appointed assessor (the “Assessor”). The assessment may include a review of Dr. Straka’s patient charts, direct observations, interviews with staff and/or patients, and a formalized evaluation of Dr. Straka’s knowledge base. The results of the assessment shall be reported to the College after which, should it be recommended by the Assessor, the College may in its discretion permit Dr. Straka to practice without restriction.
(vii)Dr. Straka shall consent to sharing of information among the Assessor, the Clinical Supervisor, the College, and any education providers under paragraph 3(iii) above as any of them deem necessary or desirable in order to fulfill their respective obligations.
(viii)Dr. Straka shall consent to the College providing any Chief(s) of Staff or a colleague with similar responsibilities at any hospital where he practices or has privileges (“Chief(s) of Staff”) with any information the College has that led to this Order and/or any information arising from the monitoring of his compliance with this Order.
(ix) Dr. Straka shall inform the College of each and every location where he practices, in any jurisdiction (his “Practice Location(s)”) within fifteen (15) days of this Order and shall inform the College of any and all new Practice Locations within fifteen (15) days of commencing practice at that location.
(x) Dr. Straka shall cooperate with unannounced inspections of his hospital-based anesthesia practice and patient charts by a College representative(s) for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing his compliance with the terms of this Order.
(xi) Dr. Straka shall consent to the College making appropriate enquiries of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan and/or any person who or institution that may have relevant information, in order for the College to monitor and enforce his compliance with the terms of this Order.
(xii) Dr. Straka shall be responsible for any and all costs associated with implementing the terms of this Order; and

4. Dr. Straka to pay to the College costs in the amount of $10,000.00, within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order.
 


Decision: Download Full Decision (PDF)
Hearing Date(s): June 2 2016

Concerns

Source: Member
Active Date: April 30, 2018
Expiry Date:
Summary:
Summary of the Undertaking given by Dr. Pavel Frantisek Straka to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, effective April 30, 2018:

Several College investigations were conducted into whether Dr. Straka engaged in professional misconduct or was incompetent in his anesthesiology practice, including his prescribing of narcotics and controlled substances and his provision of anesthesiology at premises outside a hospital setting. In the face of these allegations, Dr. Straka has resigned from the College and agreed never to apply or reapply for registration as a physician in Ontario or any other jurisdiction.
Download Full Document (PDF)