Ontario doctor given ‘slap on the wrist’ for botched euthanasia

A doctor in Ontario, Canada, has been “cautioned” after multiple complaints were made against him in relation to euthanasia deaths under his care.

Dr James MacLean was investigated over two incidents, one involving a patient whom he assessed for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) in the car park of a doughnut shop. Another involving a patient who began breathing again after the doctor declared them dead.

An independent assessor deemed him to be lacking in professional judgement and care. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario responded merely by giving the doctor a verbal caution, and stating he should be supervised for six months.

Botched euthanasia

In one case considered, Dr MacLean failed to give a 67-year-old cancer patient the correct lethal drugs which led to the person resuming breathing after the doctor had already declared them dead and left.

He then came back to administer further lethal drugs to the individual, “and again pronounced the patient’s death”.

The family complained about his lack of professionalism.

Car park assessment

Another complaint was made against the doctor after he conducted a MAID assessment in a car park outside a doughnut shop.

I am horrified that the college has not stopped him from practising

He then sent the patient, Thomas Dillon, numerous text messages to plan his death. The 45-year-old had Crohn’s disease and a history of depression.

Two days after the initial assessment, Dr MacLean personally drove Dillon to the location where he was killed. It was determined that his behaviour “raised a risk of perceived coercion” and “reflected a lack of the level of formality and care expected when assessing requests for MAID”.

Dillon’s Aunt said: “I am horrified that the college has not stopped him from practising”.

Lack of accountability

The independent assessor concluded that MacLean “did not meet the standard of practice of the profession, displayed a lack of judgment and that his conduct exposes or is likely to expose patients to harm or injury in five out of twenty charts reviewed”.

Laura Zilke, spokeswoman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, claimed: “The college takes any complaints brought to our attention extremely seriously as part of our mandate to serve the public interest and ensure safe, ethical and competent medical care for all Ontarians.”

However, Dr Ramona Coelho, a former member of the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario’s MAID death review committee, criticised the College, noting: “What is striking is not only the seriousness of the concerns identified in these cases, but the limited regulatory response”.

She said: “The level of scrutiny and accountability applied to MAID is inconsistent with how other serious medical procedures are regulated,” adding that the federal Government “frequently points to the absence of criminal findings or disciplinary action as evidence that the MAID system is functioning safely”.

Warnings for the UK

In Canada, euthanasia has been legal since 2016, and is now the sixth leading cause of death in the country. Originally only for those with a terminal illness, Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) was expanded in 2021 to include people with serious or incurable conditions but who do not have a terminal diagnosis. The Canadian Government is expected to expand MAID provisions in 2027 to include those suffering only from mental illness.

there is no safe way to legalise doctors killing their patients

The Institute’s Head of Communications Angus Saul said: “Only ten years on from its introduction in Canada, euthanasia assessments are happening in car parks, and patients are being given the wrong drugs and abandoned.

“This surely proves beyond all doubt, as we have warned many times in the UK, that introducing the likes of assisted suicide and euthanasia changes the doctor-patient relationship irreparably. This slapdash and callous attitude displayed here towards killing the sick and vulnerable is chilling.

“We thank God that the careful scrutiny by politicians of assisted suicide in Westminster and Holyrood resulted in the Leadbeater and McArthur Bills falling. These terrible cases from Canada show that, however safe a Bill is supposed to be, however many ‘safeguards’ are in place, there is no safe way to legalise doctors killing their patients.

“Humans are the same, wherever you go, and we would be naïve to believe that such abuses of trust and power would not take place here. Should the spectre of assisted suicide raise its ugly head again on our shores, Christians must be quick to oppose it.”