(1 of 2)
As from 11:59 p.m., November 5, 2021, by order of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the following terms, conditions and limitations are imposed on the certificate of registration held by Dr. Celeste Jean Thirlwell :
Practice Restriction
(1) Dr. Thirlwell shall not provide medical exemptions in relation to vaccines for COVID-19;
(2) Dr. Thirlwell shall not provide medical exemptions in relation to mask requirements for COVID-19;
(3) Dr. Thirlwell shall not provide medical exemptions in relation to testing for COVID-19.
Posting a Sign and Translations
(4) Dr. Thirlwell shall post a sign in all waiting rooms, examination rooms and consulting rooms, in all Practice Locations, in a clearly visible and secure location, at all times whether or not she is physically present at the Practice Location, in the form set out at Schedule “A.” If providing care in a virtual setting, Dr. Thirlwell shall display the sign to the patient at the outset of the patient encounter. If the patient encounter is by telephone, Dr. Thirlwell shall read the sign to the patient at the outset of the patient encounter. For further clarity, this sign shall state as follows: “Dr. Thirlwell must not provide medical exemptions in relation to COVID-19 vaccines, mask requirements or testing. Further information may be found on the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario website at www.cpso.on.ca”.
(5) Dr. Thirlwell shall post a certified translation(s) in any language(s) in which she provides services, of the sign described in (4) above, in all waiting rooms, examination rooms and consulting rooms, in all of her Practice Locations, in a clearly visible and secure location, in the form attached hereto as Schedule “A”.
(6) Dr. Thirlwell shall provide the certified translation(s) described in (5) above to the College within 30 days of the date of this Order;
(7) The College may accept an alternative arrangement with respect to signage in a hospital setting, in its sole discretion.
Notification of Practice Locations
(8) Dr. Thirlwell shall inform the College of each and every location at which she practices including, but not limited to, hospital(s), clinic(s), office(s) and virtual care setting(s) in any jurisdiction (collectively the “Practice Location(s)”), within five (5) days of this Order. Going forward, she shall inform the College of any and all new Practice Locations within five (5) days of commencing practice at or accepting patients from that location.
Monitoring
(9) Dr. Thirlwell shall, within fourteen (14) days of the date of this Order, provide to the College her irrevocable consent in the form attached at Schedule “B” for the College to make appropriate enquiries of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (“OHIP”), to monitor her compliance with the terms of this Order.
(10) Dr. Thirlwell shall maintain a log of all professional encounters with patients, including both in-person encounters and encounters in a virtual setting, in the form attached at Schedule “C” (“Patient Log”). Dr. Thirlwell shall include in the Patient Log the name of each patient with whom she has a professional encounter and the date of the encounter; the patient’s date of birth; the reason for the visit; and the type of visit (i.e., telemedicine or in-person).
(11) Dr. Thirlwell shall provide a copy of the Patient Log to the College every two (2) weeks, or at any other time as requested by the College.
(12) Dr. Thirlwell shall submit to, and not interfere with, unannounced inspections of her Practice Locations and to inspections of patient charts by the College and to any other activity the College deems necessary in order to monitor Dr. Thirlwell’s compliance with the terms of this Order.
(13) Dr. Thirlwell shall consent to the College providing the Order to any Chief(s) of Staff, or a colleague with similar responsibilities, at any Practice Location where she practices or has privileges (“Chief(s) of Staff”), and to provide said Chief(s) of Staff with any information the College has that led to this Order and/or any information arising from the monitoring of her compliance with this Order.
(2 of 2)
As from October 16, 2019, the following terms, conditions and limitations are
imposed on the certificate of registration held by Dr. Celeste Jean Thirlwell,
in accordance with an undertaking and consent Dr. Thirlwell has given to the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario:
UNDERTAKING, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND CONSENT
("Undertaking")
of
DR. CELESTE JEAN THIRLWELL
("Dr. Thirlwell")
to
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF ONTARIO
(the "College")
A. PREAMBLE
(1) In this Undertaking:
"Code" means the Health Professions Procedural Code, which is Schedule 2
to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 18, as
amended;
"ICR Committee" means the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee of
the College;
"NMS" means the Drug Program Services Branch, the Narcotics Monitoring
System
implemented under the Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act, 2010;
"OHIP" means the Ontario Health Insurance Plan;
"Public Register" means the College's register that is available to the
public.
(2) I, Dr. Thirlwell, certificate of registration number 76629, am a member
of the College.
(3) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that the College conducted investigations
bearing File
Numbers 7215886 and 1102304 (the "Investigation") into whether I engaged
in professional misconduct and/or am incompetent in my sleep medicine
practice.
(4) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that I am entering into two Undertakings on
this date and that, if both Undertakings as signed by me are accepted by
the ICR Committee, the College will also deliver a caution in person.
B. UNDERTAKING
(5) I, Dr. Thirlwell, undertake to abide by the provisions of this
Undertaking, effective upon the date this Undertaking is approved by the
ICR Committee ("Effective Date").
(6) Resignation of Prescribing Privileges - Narcotics and Narcotic
Preparations
(a) I, Dr. Thirlwell, undertake that I will not issue new prescriptions
or renew existing prescriptions for or administer any of the
following substances:
(i) Narcotic Drugs (from the Narcotic Control Regulations
made under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act,
S.C., 1996, c. 19); and
(ii) Narcotic Preparations (from the Narcotic Control
Regulations made under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act, S.C., 1996, c. 19);
(A summary of the above-named drugs [from Appendix I to the
Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties] is attached
hereto as Appendix "A"; and links to the current regulatory
lists are attached hereto as Appendix "B")
and as amended from time to time.
(b) I, Dr. Thirlwell, undertake that I will return any supplies of the
substances referred to in section (a) above that are presently in
my possession, in any place, to a pharmacy in a safe and secure
manner, as stipulated in the College's Policy Number 8-12,
"Prescribing Drugs."
(7) Change of Scope
(a) I, Dr. Thirlwell, undertake that, in the event that I intend to
resume prescribing Narcotic Drugs or Narcotic Preparations in the
future, I will notify the College and comply with the process set
out in the College's Policy on Ensuring Competence: Changing Scope
of Practice and/or Re-Entering Practice.
(8) Monitoring
(a) I, Dr. Thirlwell, undertake to inform the College of each and every
location at which I practise or have privileges, including, but not
limited to, any hospitals, clinics, offices, and any Independent
Health Facilities with which I am affiliated, in any jurisdiction
(collectively my "Practice Location" or "Practice Locations"),
within five (5) days of executing this Undertaking. Going forward,
I further undertake to inform the College of any and all new
Practice Locations within five (5) days of commencing practice at
that location.
(b) I, Dr. Thirlwell, undertake that I will submit to, and not
interfere with, unannounced inspections of my Practice Locations
and patient records by a College representative for the purposes of
monitoring my compliance with the provisions of this Undertaking.
(c) I, Dr. Thirlwell, give my irrevocable consent to the College to
make appropriate enquiries of OHIP, NMS and/or any person who or
institution that may have relevant information, in order for the
College to monitor my compliance with the provisions of this
Undertaking.
(d) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that I have executed the OHIP and NMS
consent forms, attached hereto as Appendix "C" and Appendix "D",
respectively.
C. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
(9) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that all appendices attached to or referred
to in this Undertaking form part of this Undertaking.
(10) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge and undertake that I shall be solely
responsible for payment of all fees, costs, charges, expenses, etc.
arising from the implementation of any of the provisions of this
Undertaking.
(11) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that I have read and understand the
provisions of this Undertaking and that I have obtained independent legal
counsel in reviewing and executing this Undertaking, or have waived my
right to do so.
(12) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that the College will provide this
Undertaking to any Chief of Staff, or a colleague with similar
responsibilities, at any Practice Location ("Chief of Staff" or "Chiefs
of Staff").
(13) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that a breach by me of any provision of
this Undertaking may constitute an act of professional misconduct and/or
incompetence, and may result in a referral of specified allegations to
the Discipline Committee of the College.
(14) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that this Undertaking constitutes terms,
conditions, and limitations on my certificate of registration for the
purposes of section 23 of the Code.
(15) Public Register
(a) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that, during the time period that
this Undertaking remains in effect, this Undertaking shall be
posted on the Public Register.
(b) I, Dr. Thirlwell, acknowledge that, in addition to this Undertaking
being posted in accordance with section (15)(a) above, the
following summary shall be posted on the Public Register during the
time period that this Undertaking remains in effect:
A College investigation was conducted into whether Dr.
Thirlwell engaged in professional misconduct and/or is
incompetent in her sleep medicine practice. As a result of
the investigation:
Dr. Thirwell must not issue new prescriptions or renew
existing prescriptions for or administer any of the following
substances:
(i) Narcotic Drugs (from the Narcotic Control Regulations
made under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act,
S.C., 1996, c. 19); and
(ii) Narcotic Preparations (from the Narcotic Control
Regulations made under the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act, S.C., 1996, c. 19).
D. CONSENT
(16) I, Dr. Thirlwell, give my irrevocable consent to the College to provide
all Chiefs of Staff with any information the College has that led to the
circumstances of my entering into this Undertaking and/or any information
arising from the monitoring of my compliance with this Undertaking.
Terms and conditions imposed on certificate by: Member
