Hoskins Brushes off Minister’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Patients
QUEEN’S PARK – Ontarians continue to wait for the release of the report the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Patients and the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. The task force was created to examine and provide the Minister with advice and recommendations on how to best strengthen RHPA’s sexual abuse provisions to better prevent all forms of sexual abuse of patients by health care professionals.
“Ontario’s patients must have confidence in our health care system that our regulated health professionals are causing no harm, yet the Liberal Government has failed in their responsibility to better protect patients from sexual abuse,” said Ontario PC Health Critic Jeff Yurek. “Matters of sexual abuse must be handled compassionately and immediately, but this Minister continues to ignore the urgency of this issue by refusing to release the report as promised.”
First struck in December 2014, the recommendations were to be presented to the Minister no later than the spring of 2015, with an official report to be released in December of 2015.
The delay in release of the report has pushed Sharon Danley, survivor, Advocate & Board Member with the DisAbled Women’s Network, Ontario, to resign her organization from the Wynnegovernment’s Roundtable on Violence Against Women in protest over the delay in releasing the report.
Danley spoke out in an open letter on behalf of DAWN Ontario, stating, “We strongly feel that the wall of silence and secrecy being misused under ‘confidentially’ is misplaced, ethically out of line and avoids constructive future strategic planning for our organizations.”
“How can this Minister claim a zero tolerance approach to sexual abuse of patients when he has recommendations to fix the current system but refuses to act?” continued Yurek. “The Minister should provide these survivors who have bravely spoken out with the respect they deserve, and release the Task Force Report on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Patients.”