A Chilliwack doctor who lost his licence to practice medicine in B.C. in 2017 for repeatedly failing the qualifying exam has been formally reprimanded by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. (the College).
Dr. Sean Liam Oscar Christopher Cambridge and his wife Dr. Rosemarie Trellis Penelope Cambridge, a married couple, were granted provisional licences to practise medicine in B.C. in 2011, the two taking on a large practice in the city, which faces a shortage of family doctors.
Now more than 1,000 patients are left without a family doctor after the pair repeatedly failed to pass the licensing exam.
But it was Sean Cambridge’s failure to disclose the fact that he had his licence revoked in Saskatchewan that led to the College reprimand this week, which comes with a $5,000 fine, and a number of other conditions.
In a press release issued April 18, the College said Cambridge “admitted to engaging in unprofessional conduct by making a material misrepresentation on his application for registration to the College.”
Specifically, he did not tell the College that he was at one time registered with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS) and that licence was terminated.
He answered in the negative to this question: “Have you ever had your licence to practise medicine in any jurisdiction revoked, suspended, or restricted in any way?”
After six years of practising medicine in Chilliwack, and failing to pass the board exams five times in six years – Rosemarie Cambridge failed four times in six years – the couple’s registration with the College was cancelled on Sept. 12, 2017.
The Cambridges’ lawyer told the CBC’s Eric Rankin that the had 1,180 patients in the last full year of their practice. Those patients are now without a family doctor, but a reliable source has told The Progress the number of patients under their care was actually much higher than that.
And while he was on a provisional licence that sets limits on the practice, according to the Ministry of Health’s public records, Sean Cambridge billed just an average of $557,130 for the five fiscal years between 2012/2013 and 2016/2017, considerably higher than the provincial average.
This week it was announced Sean Cambridge consented to the disposition by the College, which includes: a formal reprimand; notification to the College of the location of his patient records; payment to the college of $5,000; a note if he is ever registered again that he is in the “Conditional – Disciplined” class; and that if he re-applies to the College he must attend and complete a multi-disciplinary assessment program, participate in continuing medical education with a focus on ethics and professionalism, and attend an interview at the College.
And while the formal reprimand issued this week could spell the end of his career in medicine in Chilliwack and B.C., it may not as he could eventually pass the exam and re-apply. Many patients, however, have expressed real dissatisfaction with the Cambridges’ practice repeatedly over the years.
From misdiagnoses to overlooked test results to bad bedside manner, patients have anecdotally expressed a number of concerns about the Cambridges to The Progress.
See more on this story next week in print and at www.theprogress.com.
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paul.henderson@theprogress.com
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