You are here: Home > Council > Council Meeting Summary > Executive Summary September 18 & 19, 2008 Council Meeting

Whats New...

Executive Summary September 18 & 19, 2008 Council Meeting

Introduction

The Council of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Saskatchewan operates under an explicit set of governance policies. It strives to make its work as transparent as possible to the medical profession and the general public.

Those portions of the Council's deliberations that are not confidential are open to observation by any person subject to space availability in the meeting room.

At the conclusion of each Council meeting an Executive Summary of the meeting is widely distributed to the District Medical Associations, related organizations and the public media. This Executive Summary provides a brief overview of issues discussed, decisions made, and/or actions taken by the Council. If any person wishes more detailed information about any of the issues which are not subject to confidentiality constraints, these can be obtained by contacting Ms. Tracy Hastings, the College's Regulatory Services Coordinator, at 500, 321A - 21st Street East, Saskatoon S7K 0C1; Phone: (306) 244-7355; Fax: (306) 244-0090; e-mail: hastint@shin.sk.ca.

The Council:

  1. Considered the input received from consultation with the RHAs, the Senior Medical Officers, the SMA, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, and the Ministry of Health in respect to a future policy that will require internationally trained family physicians seeking initial licensure in Saskatchewan to practice in a group setting until they have been successful on the CAPE assessment. After considering this consultation input the Council adopted the final text of this policy which will become effective April 1, 2009.

  2. Adopted an amendment to Bylaw 40, which pertains to the Prescription Review Program.

  3. Adopted a bylaw which sets the annual College fee for 2009 at $1,250.00 and set a number of other fees related to services provided by the College.

  4. Repealed Bylaw 62, which was a bylaw adopted by the College in 2007 to enable non-medical midwives to provide care to newborn babies until The Midwifery Act was amended to enable such care under that legislation.

  5. Discussed ongoing consultations with the Ministry of Health and dialogue within the Advisory Committee on Medical Imaging regarding a proposed addition to Bylaw 57 which will set out standards for the provision of nuclear medicine services.

  6. Approved a protocol that defines the circumstances in which EMTs, EMTAs, and/or Paramedics may declare a patient dead.

  7. Discussed the potential adverse impact of changes in Chapter 7 of the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT) which governs the inter-provincial mobility of physicians and all other workers.

  8. Appointed Dr. Y. Nataraj as a member of the Practice Enhancement Program Committee.

  9. Appointed Drs. P. Hanekom and T. Malhotra as members of the College's Finance Committee.

  10. Appointed Dr. Tania Diener as a member of the Joint College and SMA Advisory Committee on Blood Borne Pathogens.

  11. Determined that it will recruit and appoint a panel of physicians for future service on Preliminary Inquiry Committees (PICs) and draw from that panel to populate specific PICs as the need arises. The physicians appointed to this panel will receive orientation and education in respect to the conduct of investigations by a PIC under The Medical Profession Act.

  12. Agreed that it will collaborate with the SMA in developing a future plan for community based evaluation of International Medical Graduates.

  13. Agreed that the College will maintain dialogue with the SMA about the potential joint purchase of accommodations when the current accommodation rental leases held by both the College and the SMA expire.

  14. Reviewed and discussed a monitoring report from the Registrar in respect to his advancement of the Council's organizational End relating to "Medical Profession Prepared For the Future".

  15. Received and discussed monitoring reports from the Registrar in respect to his compliance with the Council's Executive Limitation policies pertaining to:

    1. Future Financial Planning for the College
    2. The College's Current Financial Condition
    3. Protection of the College's Assets
    4. Compensation and Benefit Arrangements for College Employees.

  16. Reviewed its compliance with its governance policies pertaining to:

    1. Global Governance Process
    2. Governing Style
    3. Council Job Description.

  17. Met in-camera with the Registrar to discuss the Registrar's performance evaluation.

  18. Deferred to the November meeting of Council dialogue about strategies and actions initiated and/or continued by the Registrar to implement the Council's strategic plan.

  19. Received and discussed a report from Ms. Barb Porter, Manager of Physician Registration, in respect to the performance to date of all IMG family physicians who have undertaken the CAPE assessment.

  20. Received and discussed a report from Mr. Bryan Salte, Associate Registrar, in respect to progress on formal investigations and prosecution of charges laid by the Council.

  21. Appointed a Competency Committee under Section 45 of The Medical Profession Act to investigate whether a physician has adequate knowledge and skills to practice medicine.

  22. Laid charges of unprofessional conduct against three separate physicians.

  23. Was advised by the Associate Registrar that the prosecution of charges the Council laid against Dr. D. Appavoo of Kerrobert will not be prosecuted as Dr. Appavoo has resigned his membership with the College of Physicians and Surgeons and agreed not to undertake any future practice.

Following adjournment of the Council meeting, Councillors participated in an Interdisciplinary Conference focused on patient engagement in patient safety, which was jointly planned and sponsored by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the College of Pharmacists, and the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association.

The Council is next scheduled to meet in Saskatoon on November 21 & 22, 2008.

At the President's Dinner on Friday, November 21, 2008, a number of physicians will be awarded Senior Life Membership with the College of Physicians and Surgeons. At the same event, Miss Jeannette Heinen will be thanked and honored for forty-nine years of service as an employee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. At the end of this calendar year Miss Heinen will be retiring from her current role as Executive Secretary to the Registrar and secretary to the Council.