An Ontario doctor, once at the centre of 60 malpractice lawsuits, had her licence suspended by the provincial medical watchdog after she was found to be “incompetent in her personal care of 24 patients.”

Cathy Frank, an obstetrician-gynecologist from St. Thomas, has been barred from practising for two years by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

The decision, released in February, reveals more than 30 patients filed complaints to the college against Frank between 2009 and 2012. The incidents date back to 2003.

Frank’s lawyer, Carolyn Brandow, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The decision found 16 complaints involving hysterectomies performed by Frank, many of which did not involve alternative forms of treatment.

While performing one hysterectomy, Frank failed to investigate what was causing the original problem of heavy menstrual bleeding, the decision says. The patient “ultimately was found to have internal bleeding … bruising of her lower abdomen, and vault cellulitis.”

One woman’s sole ovary was removed during a hysterectomy and she wasn’t aware this occurred for “several years.” According to the decision, she was left “prematurely menopausal,” adding that the removal was not discussed with the patient beforehand or with the family during the surgery.

Other grievances against Frank were that she failed to adequately investigate symptoms or alert patients to potential risks of the surgery coupled with their individual medical histories.

The reasons for the suspension include:

Failure to determine root causes of patients’ symptoms before resorting to surgery.

Failure to establish consent before performing operations.

Inadequate record keeping, as it relates to discussions surrounding consent and the way she performed gynecological surgeries.

Operations that went against the “standards of practice of the profession.”

“Failing to adequately monitor and assess post-operative patients, including those exhibiting symptoms of complications.”

Lorraine Kinninmont, a resident of London, Ont., said she filed a complaint with the college in late 2009.

To treat heavy, irregular bleeding, she said Frank performed a hysterectomy in September 2009 at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. Her whole body swelled up after surgery, Kinninmont told the Star, and the pain got worse as the days wore on.

It turned out she had a perforated bowel and she underwent emergency surgery a week later to remove part of her colon.

Kinninmont has undergone two more corrective surgeries since the initial procedure with Frank, she said. Her stomach has no muscles left, she said, meaning she can’t take part in activities she used to enjoy, like tennis or riding her motorcycle. Even cleaning the house is now strenuous.

“I will never be back to normal,” she said. “I wasn’t able to return to my original role (at her former place of work). To be blunt, it is chronic diarrhea, constantly.”

In 2015, the Star reported that Frank faced 60 malpractice lawsuits.

Joni Dobson, a lawyer based in London, Ont., represented some of the complainants. She said this week that she couldn’t produce a specific figure as to how many remain, adding that “there aren’t many active.” The Star wasn’t able to determine the outcome of the lawsuits.

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Some of the women, with the help of Dobson’s law firm, Legate & Associates, filed complaints with the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Many women only became aware of the allegations against Frank when the law firm held a news conference in 2011, Dobson said.

“For them, the college decision really is a win. It accomplished what they set out to do. What it does is give to other people what my ladies didn’t have,” Dobson said. “It was hidden from the women who came to me — they didn’t know that Dr. Frank had a problem.”

Kinninmont is upset with the college, saying that it “let it go on.”

“While there is that amount of relief, there is anger,” Kinninmont told the Star. “Why did the (college) take so long and how can they be held accountable? How can they change their processes to avoid this in the future? This goes back to 2003. I look back and it makes me angry because maybe had the (college) acted properly the first time, I wouldn’t have been injured … My goal has always been to stop other women being hurt.”

A college spokesperson said investigations with multiple patients are complicated and require a lot of time.

“They may involve retaining experts to provide opinions regarding the care provided to each patient, gathering relevant records and interviewing other witnesses,” Tracey Sobers said in an email to the Star. “The Investigations, Complaints and Resolutions Committee, which screens investigations and decides how to dispose of them or to refer them to discipline, must consider the appropriate outcome for each case.”

To remedy concerns about Frank prior to its recent decision, the college monitored her work and placed several restrictions on her practice.

“Dr. Frank has been the subject of practice restrictions and monitoring by the (college) since 2009 when she first entered into an undertaking with the (college) to undergo an assessment of her practice,” Sobers said. “Since 2011, Dr. Frank’s practice has been restricted with respect to obstetrical and gynecological surgery.”

Paul Harte, a Toronto lawyer who represented former patients of Frank at the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, said the college’s decision didn’t come soon enough.

“In my view, the college did move too slowly,” he said. “They need to find a way to expedite the process when they’re dealing with a doctor who has multiple complaints.”

Sobers called Frank’s two-year suspension “a very significant penalty.”

“While Dr. Frank’s licence was not revoked, when a physician’s licence is revoked in a case like this (rather than suspended), the physician may apply to the college to seek to have their licence reinstated after one year,” she said.

Harte said Frank’s licence shouldn’t have been merely suspended, but revoked altogether.

“It really is a sweetheart deal for Cathy Frank,” he said.