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The Divisional Court reminds healthcare professionals what they need to consider under the Healthcare Consent Act when treating minors.

In recent weeks, the CPSO has placed restrictions on the certificates of practice of certain physicians, banning them from providing medical exemptions in relation to COVID-19 vaccinations, mandatory mask requirements and testing for COVID-19.

On October 27, 2021, the CPSO suspended one physician from practice entirely related to such activity.

How is the CPSO able to take such action?

Effective 11:59 p.m. on March 24, 2020, the Ontario government ordered the closure of “non-essential” workplaces.  The list of “essential” workplaces included “health care professionals providing emergency care including dentists, optometrists and physiotherapists”.

The College of Chiropractors of Ontario (“CCO”) interprets this list as including chiropractors, and we agree.

So the question becomes – what is “emergency care”?

The past several weeks have been a challenging time for everyone.  Health professionals have been bombarded with Emergency Orders and other pronouncements that can be confusing and at times seem contradictory.

With the rules and restrictions changing so rapidly, it is advisable to keep an eye on the website, social media feeds, and other communications from your respective regulatory College for your College’s interpretation and position on what you should and should not be doing during the pandemic.  While the Emergency Orders and pronouncements apply to a broad spectrum of health professionals, individual Colleges can provide guidance and interpretation about how those orders and pronouncements relate to your specific profession.

But what if you’re still unsure about whether you can provide a particular service to a specific patient/client; or some other aspect of your professional obligations at this uncertain time?

The Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario has issued an updated Directive #2 (dated May 26, 2020) for Regulated Health Professionals in the province. 

Pursuant to the updated Directive #2, all deferred non-essential and elective services by health care providers may be gradually restarted – subject to the rest of the requirements set out in the Directive.

The updated Directive #2 does not provide particularly detailed guidance to health professionals on how to proceed, likely because it applies to such a broad spectrum of health care and health professionals. It does, however, provide some principles to assist health care providers in making decisions as we enter this transitional period.