Press Release

College releases Hearing Committee decision in Dr. Angus Gardner professional misconduct case

Halifax, January 29, 2003 - Pursuant to a Hearing Committee decision dated January 17, 2003, incorporating a settlement agreement, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia has issued a reprimand to Dr. Angus Gardner, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Sydney, Nova Scotia, in relation to the complaint of patient X.

Patient X gave birth to stillborn female twins in February 2000. With regard to his care of patient X, Dr. Gardner admitted to six allegations described in the Notice of Hearing:

1. That he failed to adequately recognize or address the significance of abnormal fetal heart tracings.

2. That he failed to re-examine the patient at appropriate intervals following her initial hospital admission.

3. That he failed to adequately investigate the cause of the patient's polyhydramnios.

4. That he did not attempt to determine zygosity of the twin pregnancy.

5. That he failed to consider the possibility of twin-to-twin transfusion during the patient's admission to hospital.

6. That he failed to obtain a biophysical profile at the time of the patient's admission to hospital and/or prior to February 14, 2000.

Dr. Gardner has admitted that he is guilty of professional misconduct, and has consented to a reprimand with respect to this finding.

In accordance with the settlement agreement, Dr. Gardner also agreed that:

1. He will undergo, at his own expense, a professional assessment at the Center for Personalized Education for Physicians (CPEP) in Colorado at the earliest available date.

2. He will remove himself from practice to participate in a four-week training/study program at the Fetal Assessment and Treatment Centre in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Dalhousie University. He will also undertake additional remediation if so recommended by his CPEP assessment.

3. The Hearing Committee will retain jurisdiction over his case until Dr. Gardner has successfully completed all required remediation and training.

4. He will pay $10,000 to cover a portion of the College's costs in resolving this matter.

A copy of the Hearing Committee Decision and Settlement Agreement are available online at http://www.cpsns.ns.ca/gardner.pdf , or by contacting the College at (902) 421-2212, or toll-free at 1-877-282-7767.

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Contact:
Bruce Thorne
Manager, Policy and Communications
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia
Suite 5005, 7071 Bayers Rd.
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3L 2C2

Phone: (902) 421-2212
Cell: (902) 499-6403
Toll-free in Nova Scotia: 1-877-282-7767
E-mail: bthorne@cpsns.ns.ca

(Updated January 29, 2003)
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