The disciplinary council of the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons has suspended a local physician for four months for unprofessional conduct.

Dr. Mehdi Horri of the Estevan Medical Group pleaded guilty to five charges under the Medical Profession Act. The council accepted a joint recommendation for the penalty following Horri’s admission of unprofessional conduct, and after a joint submission between Horri’s lawyer and Bryan Salte, the attorney for the college.

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The suspension began April 4.

The first incident occurred on April 21, 2017, when he was involved in the care of a patient identified by the initials Q.L. Horri arranged for an iron infusion for Q.L., and provided or arranged for the infusion of fresh frozen plasma for Q.L., but not within the standard of practice of the profession.

The next incident, on April 22, 2017, involved in the care of a patient identified by the initials A.W. Horri provided or arranged for a blood transfusion for A.W.; failed to follow the advice of a hemopathologist who was consulted with respect to the care of the patient; and failed to follow the transfusion protocol in place at the hospital when providing or arranging for the blood. According to documents from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Horri also exhibited anger towards nursing staff involved in the care of A.W., and placed an entry in A.W.’s chart saying he might contact the licensing body for nursing.

Salte said this case was of particular concern for the college, because an expert in the field said there shouldn’t be a blood transfusion.

“From our perspective, in taking a penalty perspective, that was an important factor in deciding how long that suspension should be,” he said.

Next, on or about May 22, 2017, Horri was involved in the care of a patient referred to as L.B., and administered Rocuronium without advising STARS personnel. He also left a medical student in charge of arranging the transfer of the patient to Regina without providing appropriate oversight; and failed to be present when STARS personnel arrived to transfer L.B. to Regina, leaving the medical student to communicate with STARS personnel.

Then, on or about June 12, 2017, he was involved in the care of a patient identified as W.V. One or more pharmacists involved in the care of W.V. recommended a reduction in the quantities of medications being administered to the patient. Horri failed to record reasons for not following the recommendations of the pharmacist(s).

Finally, on or about Oct. 30, 2018, he provided medical care to a patient identified as Patient Number 1 at his medical clinic. The clinic was not approved as a non-hospital treatment facility, but he provided or arranged for the administration of propofol to Patient Number 1, contravening the Medical Professional Act, which failed to meet the standard of practice of the profession.

This is not Horri’s first reprimand from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. His licence was revoked for a year in 2017 and 2018 in Saskatchewan, after similar actions were taken by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Horri was found to have engaged in a sexual relationship with a patient too soon after the termination of the doctor-patient relationship while Horri was still practising in Ontario.

Salte said that when trying to determine an appropriate punishment for Horri, the fact he previously had his medical licence revoked was a factor in seeking a four-month suspension this time.

At the time of the revocation in 2017, Horri was practising as an anesthesiologist and a general practitioner in Estevan; he has been a general practitioner since returning to work nearly two years ago.