Appeals to COO Decisions - Registration and Complaints
Complaints
Complainants or College members may request appeal within thirty days of receiving notice of a complaints panel decision. This appeal is made to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board (HPARB) which is a government-funded independent body constituted by members of the public who are not health care professionals. The Board can extend this time limit for an additional 60 days if it is satisfied that no person will be prejudiced. The Board can also refuse to conduct a review if it considers the request is unworthy of serious attention. Where a review is conducted, the Board may only examine the adequacy of the
investigation conducted and/or the reasonableness of the decision reached by the complaints committee panel.
When a review is completed, the Board may do one of the following things:
uphold or confirm all or part of a Complaints Committee decision; make recommendations to the Complaints Committee; or require the Complaints Committee to do anything the committee or panel may do under the RHPA.
The Board must give a written summary of its decisions and reasons for those decisions to both concerned parties and the College's Complaints Committee.
Registration
Appeals are allowed for applicants who are dissatisfied with the Registration Committee's decision to deny or attach terms, conditions or limitations to a certificate of registration with the College. The appeal may be for either a review, or a hearing before the HPARB. A review is a simple private review by the HPARB of the decision and of the documents considered by the Registration Committee. There is no personal appearance or representation made for a review. A hearing is a quasi-judicial process with allowance for attendance and presentation before a HPARB panel by the applicant and by the representatives of the Registration Committee.
The Board has the power to achieve one or more of the following results:
confirm the decision of the Registration
Committee; require the Registration Committee to make an
order directing the registrar to issue a certificate of registration to the
applicant if the applicant passes an examination specified by the Registration
Committee or successfully completes any additional training specified by the
committee; require the Registration Committee to make an
order directing the registrar to issue a certificate of registration to the
applicant subject to any terms, conditions or limitations the Board considers
appropriate; require the Registration Committee to give
further consideration to the application in light of any recommendations that
board may make.
Complaints
uphold or confirm all or part of a Complaints Committee decision;