ManitobaA Winnipeg man who submitted a complaint to College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba, alleging “severe harm caused by medical neglect,” is calling on the regulator and the provincial government to make changes that would see complaints addressed sooner.College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba has 225 open investigations, according to email exchangeLauren Scott · CBC News · Posted: Sep 25, 2025 6:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoThe College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba is the self-regulating body that oversees more than 3,500 doctors in the province. (CBC)A Winnipeg man who submitted a complaint to the regulatory body that oversees doctors in Manitoba in September 2024, alleging “severe harm caused by medical neglect,” is calling on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba and the provincial government to make changes that would see complaints addressed sooner. The 54-year-old complainant reached out to CBC News after waiting for more than a year for a conclusion in his case before the college, the self-regulating body that governs more than 3,500 doctors in the province. CBC News has agreed not to identify the man to protect his personal health information.Delays are due to a “high volume of investigations” coupled with “reduced staffing,” said Dr. Philippe Guillaume Poliquin, the assistant registrar for the college’s complaints and investigations department, in a Sept. 15 email to the complainant shared with CBC earlier this week. The 54-year-old is one of 225 Manitobans with open investigations before the college, the majority of which involve “serious matters,” much like the complaint’s case, Poliquin’s email said.But the department only has one investigator, Poliquin wrote in the emails provided to CBC News. He said the college is currently training another. The college said in a statement Thursday it recognizes that “timeliness has been an issue,” but improvements are underway.The complaints and investigations department has undergone “significant restructuring” over the last six months to help address complaints sooner, the college said.In July, the regulator introduced a new triage system that uses data analytics to prioritize complaints as they come in. A research analyst was hired to oversee the process, which screens submissions to focus on addressing the most serious cases first. “This will ensure the investigator’s time is focused on the investigation, not on the administration of the case,” the college said. “As with any change, it takes time to see the positive impact these adjustments will have, but we expect they will maximize investigators’ time.”In its statement, the college did not confirm whether there is only one investigator working in the complaints department. The college did not provide clarification in further responses to CBC on Thursday afternoon. Staffing ‘deeply troubling’The complainant said the department’s staffing issues are “deeply troubling,” suggesting that investigations are “effectively stalled” because “the system is structurally incapable of doing its job.” “If Manitoba’s medical regulator cannot fulfil its mandate, then every patient in this province is left unprotected,” the 54-year-old said. He sent a letter to Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara last week, calling on the province to make sure the college has enough investigators to handle complaints and enforce investigation timelines.A spokesperson for Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara says the province does not direct the investigations of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)He also wants the province to require the college to report on staffing and backlogs, and consider asking physicians’ colleges in other provinces for help, his letter to the health minister said.A spokesperson for Asagwara said the college is a self-regulating body, and the government does not direct its investigations. However, the province has a role in setting “clear expectations in legislative framework” to ensure that the regulator meets “high standards of accountability and transparency,” the statement said, citing the Regulated Health Professions Act, which includes rules for regulators’ complaints and discipline processes. The spokesperson said the college has a “clear mandate to protect patient safety,” and the province expects it to meet that responsibility. The complainant said the response from both the college and the province display a “disheartening deflection from all sides.” ABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Scott is a Winnipeg-based reporter with CBC Manitoba. They hold a master’s degree in computational and data journalism, and have previously worked for the Hamilton Spectator and The Canadian Press.
After year-long wait, patient worries Manitoba medical regulator’s investigations ‘effectively stalled’
