A Canadian doctor euthanized a 45-year-old patient suffering from inflammatory bowel disease and depression after a quick assessment outside a Tim Hortons, according to officials.
Dr. James MacLean, from London, Ontario, was investigated following allegations he improperly administered Canada’s controversial Medical Assistance in Dying to Thomas Dillon, the National Post reported.
Dillon, who suffered from Crohn’s disease, was assessed by MacLean outside a Tim Hortons in June 2023 and found eligible for euthanasia under “track 2,” designed for patients not expected to die imminently but who have an incurable condition.
MacLean exchanged dozens of text messages with Dillon about plans to be medically euthanized, and even personally drove him to a morgue facility to carry out the procedure.
There, in June 2024, the doctor injected Dillon with a lethal cocktail of drugs inside a holding facility room at an industrial unit where human cadavers were prepared for funerals, officials said.
In a separate case, MacLean allegedly failed to administer one of the three drugs used in assisted deaths in Canada on a patient, according to authorities.
The unidentified patient resumed breathing after they were pronounced dead, and MacLean had already left the home, after he allegedly wasn’t given a drug that paralyzes the body’s muscles, including those involved in breathing.
His case is raising fresh concerns about MAID’s accountability and oversight.
“What is striking is not only the seriousness of the concerns identified in these cases, but the limited regulatory response,” Dr. Ramona Coelho, a family physician and former member of Ontario’s MAID death review committee, told the Globe and Mail.
MacLean was verbally “cautioned” by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which chose not to revoke his license entirely, but did impose strict, legally binding restrictions on his medical practice, the London Free Press reported.
He was placed under mandatory clinical supervision for a minimum of six months, during which time an assigned supervisor will have oversight over his medical practices, according to the decision issued March 26.
His patient charts — specifically those concerning MAID requests and assessments — will be subject to regular, mandatory reviews, and he was ordered to undergo targeted professional education focusing on the legal frameworks of MAID, the rules of informed consent, and maintaining professional boundaries.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
