Committee: Discipline
Decision Date: 01 Oct 2018
Summary:
On October 1, 2018, the Discipline Committee found that Dr. David Harold Douglas Jones committed an act of professional misconduct, in that he has engaged in conduct or an act or omission relevant to the practice of medicine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.
Jones is a general practitioner who obtained his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Western Ontario in 1987 and received his certificate of registration authorizing independent practice in Ontario in 1988. He operated a family medicine practice in London, Ontario, for a number of years, until its closure in 2013. Dr. Jones currently practises on a part-time basis at a full-service rehabilitation clinic and has no longer practises in the family practice setting in which he practised in 2009.
Disgraceful, Dishonourable or Unprofessional Conduct
Patient A was a patient of Dr. Jones from 2001 to 2010. During appointments with Patient A, Dr. Jones made inappropriate and unprofessional comments to her as follows:
- in August 2009, Dr. Jones commented on Patient A’s appearance during an intimate examination;
- during another intimate examination at the same appointment, Dr. Jones inquired about Patient A’s interest in obtaining a tattoo in her vaginal area; and
- at a prior appointment that Patient A attended with her mother, after seeing a picture of a celebrity on a magazine cover, Dr. Jones made a crude comment indicating that he found the celebrity attractive.
Patient A was mortified and in disbelief that Dr. Jones would make such comments. She ended her physician-patient relationship with Dr. Jones in early 2010. Patient A continues to be affected by Dr. Jones’s conduct. In June 2016 she submitted a complaint to the College regarding his
inappropriate comments.
Relevant College History
In March 2009, Dr. Jones was cautioned by the Complaints Committee regarding a breach of boundaries in a physician-patient relationship. The boundaries violations consisted of inappropriate self-disclosure of a personal nature to a patient. In the context of the College investigation into that matter, Dr. Jones reported that he had attended the College’s Boundaries Course on October 24-25, 2008.
In May 2010, Dr. Jones was cautioned by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (“ICRC”) regarding inappropriately asking a patient questions of a sexual nature in an occupational setting in which the patient had presented for an unrelated problem, and the use of a profane word in the context of the same patient encounter.
In July 2013, Dr. Jones was cautioned by the ICRC with respect to his communication to a teenage patient, which included comments and jokes that could be construed as sexual in nature, though the patient perceived that his intention in making the remarks was to be humorous.
Dr. Jones has no previous history before the Discipline Committee.
Disposition
On October 1, 2018, the Discipline Committee ordered and directed that:
- the Registrar suspend Dr. Jones’s certificate of registration for a period of two (2) months, effective immediately.
- the Registrar impose the following terms, conditions and limitations on Dr. Jones’s certificate of registration:
- Dr. Jones will successfully complete the PROBE course in ethics and boundaries, at his own expense, by obtaining an unconditional pass, and will provide proof of completion to the College within six (6) months from the date of this Order.
- Dr. Jones attend before the panel to be reprimanded.
- Dr. Jones pay costs to the College in the amount of $10,180 within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order.
Decision: Download Full Decision (PDF)
Hearing Date(s): Third Party Records Motion: August 30, 2018
Hearing dates: October 1, 2018