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(CARLI BERRY / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kelowna doctor who experienced "repeated differential adverse treatment" from Interior Health has got his job back after the B.C. Hospital Appeal Board ordered the health authority to rehire him.

In a lengthy 42-page appeal decision which is highly critical of how Interior Health treated him, the B.C. Hospital Appeal Board ordered that Dr. Malvinder Hoonjan be given medical privileges at Kelowna General Hospital and equal access to operating time at the hospital.

"Dr. Hoonjan has experienced repeated differential adverse treatment by Interior Health at almost every level," the Appeal Board said in the decision. "Yet almost all of the evidence and witnesses who appeared before the panel stated that he is a very good doctor who was always available and willing to help out and had a calm and compassionate demeanour."

According to the recently published Dec. 7, 2022 decision, Dr. Hoonjan had medical privileges at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops since 2010.

Then in 2019, Interior Health moved retinal surgical services to Kelowna.

The Harvard-educated doctor was one of only three retinal surgical services in Interior Health, however, when the department was moved to Kelowna, Dr. Hoonjan was let go.

According to a separate civil suit the doctor filed in BC Supreme Court, Interior Health hired two ophthalmologists for Kelowna, one a previous colleague and the other a recent graduate.

According to the decision, Dr. Hoonjan began practicing medicine in 2004 and has a wealth of degrees from the U.S. In 2010, he moved to Kelowna with his wife and children to be closer to elderly family members. He then purchased the existing practice of a retiring ophthalmologist.

The decision says Dr. Hoonjan is a South Asian Canadian who is a Sikh and wears a turban. He speaks English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu fluently.

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The 24,000-word decision is complex and often scathing in how Interior Health dealt with a multitude of aspects of the case.

In the Appeal, Interior Health argued there was no need for a third vitreo-retinal surgeon at Kelowna General Hospital.

The Appeal Board said this is a "bold statement" and the evidence refuted it.

"An issue for Interior Health appears to be that the needs are determined by... self-interested physicians, rather than the medical management team," the Appeal Board ruled.

Interior Health went on to argue that it doesn't have the resources to hire a third vitreo-retinal surgeon at Kelowna General Hospital.

The Appeal Board also dismissed that argument.

"Between the overworked retinal surgical specialists and the unused and vacant (operating) time at Kelowna General Hospital, there are sufficient existing resources to accommodate a third vitreo-retinal surgeon... with little to no financial impact on the program," the Appeal Board ruled.

The decision laid out numerous issues with the transfer of the department and how Dr. Hoonjan was left out.

The Appeal Board also found that Dr. Hoonjan's hospital privileges at Royal Inland Hospital weren't cancelled properly.

"The Senior Executive Team that approved the Decision Brief of March 2019 did not have the authority in the Medical Staff Bylaws to terminate the privileges of any physician," the Appeal Board ruled. "There is no decision-making authority vested in senior medical management regarding privileging matters... this demonstrates a significant lack of understanding of the roles and responsibilities of medical management staff and the Board."

The Appeal Board continued its criticism of how Interior Health handled the situation.

"This is a significant failure of the system of organization of responsibilities in relation to the medical staff at Interior Health," the Appeal Board ruled.

"In Dr. Hoonjan’s circumstances, he received no assistance in relation to the termination of his privileges at Royal Inland Hospital or the refusal of his two applications for privileges at Kelowna General Hospital. Several people at Interior Health owed Dr. Hoonjan this duty and every one of them failed to comply to any reasonable standard."

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While Dr. Hoonjan lost his privileges in 2019 the issues appear to have started years before.

The decision says that in 2013 Dr. Hoonjan "fell out of favour" with another doctor referred to as Dr. C in the decision.

"Perhaps this was due to Dr. C’s inappropriate use of locum services of which Interior Health became aware and did nothing to deal with any interpersonal conflicts which may have continued from that situation," the decision reads. "Dr. Hoonjan appears to be the one that suffered from Dr. C’s inappropriate conduct pertaining to the Medical Staff Bylaws."

When the department was transferred to Kelowna the doctor did have the chance to apply for his job but the Appeal Board found there was "several significant deficiencies" in the hiring process that made it unfair for Dr. Hoonjan."

The Appeal Board ruled the Kelowna hospital needed another ophthalmologist but said there were "serious concerns" about allowing Interior Health to conduct a competitive hiring process.

"This panel declines to refer this to Interior Health to conduct a further competitive search and selection process to fill the third vitreo-retinal surgeon position," the Appeal Board said.

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Instead, the Appeal Board ruled that Interior Health come up with a reintroduction plan for Dr. Hoonjan within 60 days.

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