But it was just 'goop': Doctor hit with suspension and costs for failing to remove foreign object in patient's eye

An Alberta doctor who failed to detect and remove a foreign object in a patient’s eye—and later claimed the patient had merely complained about “goop” from an eye infection—has been suspended for two months and ordered to pay 75% of the college costs involved in the hearing. Dr. Aimen Fateis, a general practitioner in St. Albert just northwest of Edmonton, also admitted that he made substantial changes to the patient’s medical records after the college advised him they had received a complaint from the patient’s mother. In addition to suspension and costs, Dr. Fateis must complete an ethics course as well as a professional development course on ophthalmological emergencies. Read: POLL: Should involuntary treatment for drug addiction be legal? “In failing to properly diagnose and treat the presenting condition, Dr. Fateis displayed a lack of knowledge or lack of skill or judgment in the provision of professional services” as per the province’s Health Professions Act, the hearing tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta wrote in its decision document. The complaint is based on a January 2019 appointment with a patient, who came in—accompanied by his mother—because of a workplace injury that left something lodged in one eye. According to the decision document, the patient stated during this appointment that he felt a foreign object enter his eye while he was at work. However, Dr. Fateis was not able to find this object. The patient subsequently contacted and saw an optometrist, who was able to diagnose and resolve the problem. After learning in March 2019 that the patient’s mother had complained to the college, Dr. Fateis went into the patient’s records and made changes without noting the date he made these revisions. About a month later, he wrote a letter to the college with a false account of the appointment, in particular the nature of the patient’s complaints. But in interviews with the college’s senior medical advisor and investigator, the patient and his mother disputed Dr. Fateis’ claim that the complaint was about “goop” in the patient’s eye. Read: Compounding the problem (in a good way): How one company is helping with children’s pain and fever relief shortage

But it was just 'goop': Doctor hit with suspension and costs for failing to remove foreign object in patient's eye

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