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economist sunjtribune health saturday aug 24 2002 markham neurologists patients will get piece of 295 million settlement from page 1 the eegs which were carried out by tech nician nicholas kyprianou a public health investigation in 1996 revealed mr kyprianou had a highly infectious case of hepatitis b and did not wear gloves while performing the eegs the investigation also determined the needles werent properly sterilized and infectioncontrol procedures were woe fully inadequate the reuse of needle electrodes from patient to patient without sterilization or cieaning in any way does not meet any standard of practice in place at the time and is of course reprehensible the rul ing states the committee considered the fail ure of dr wilson to appropriately super vise directly or audit the behaviour of mr kyprianou over a period of 20 years egre gious in the extreme among other things the panel found dr wilson failed to ensure staff used gloves dur ing the insertion of needle electrodes when exposure to blood and bodily fluids was probable failed to implement a monitoring process to ensure the adequacy of sterili zation procedures failed to ensure staff washed their hands between patients allowed needle electrodes to be used on successive patients without appropri ate cleaning disinfection or sterilization processes dr wilson also put his staff at risk by not offering hepatitis b vaccinations or creating written policies and procedures available on needle stick injuries the panel found dr wilsons failure to ensure the health and safety of his staff and patients in this way showed disregard for practice standards and was in fact disgraceful the decision reads- a penalty hearing where dr wilsons medical licence could be revoked or restricted has not yet been scheduled in january dr wilson agreed to a 295 million settlement in a class action civil suit filed by more than 300 victims that list could swell to more than 600 accord ing to lawyer michael head many people are going to come for ward who have been diagnosed with hep- dr ronald wilson neurologist who operated markham clinic also put staff at risk investigation found atitis b and who were patients of dr wilsons he said but we dont really know how many irs been the subject of long debate but we believe somewhere between 300 arid 600 the payments will go out in stages and increase with the severity of exposure he said patients who were notified but werent infected are entitled to 1000 those who contacted hepatitis b at the clinics are scored on a point system including number of days off work and number of days in hospital with the min imum payout about 10000 and the maximum to about 125000 mr head explained it took five years until may 2001 to certify the suit as a class action where numerous victims can sue together because dr wilson took the issue all the way to the supreme court of canada mr head explained dr wilsons insurance dragged this out through four levels of court not on the merits of the case or whether he was liable but simply on the basis of the suit being filed as a class action he said but in may 2001 the supreme court of canada decided they didnt want to hear it that led to protracted negotia tions and mediation through the fall of 2001 and a settlement deal was legally approved in january navigant consulting in toronto is still taking calls fiom people who may be victims of the outbreak call 1868410603 of visit wwwhepbsettiementcom important public notice road closure and parking restrictions for the bell canadian open angus glen golf club the region of york will be closing september 28 2002 major mackenzie dr from warden ave to kennedy rd and september 58 2002 warden ave from major mackenzie dr to elgin mills rd all closures will be in effect from 600 am to 800 pm each day please take alternate routes to avoid delays parking restrictions will be in effect in adjacent neighborhoods the town of markham will enforce parking restrictions to ensure emergency vehicle access for more information contact 9054754866 jvjarkhatt firefighters go all outfor calendar by chrissie obrien special hunky york region firefighters turned up the heat so much during a fundraiser last week that one commen tator declared i didnt think there would be so much skin the event a competition to decide who would make next years canadian breast cancer foundation calendar attracted 1500 people it was sponsored by the cbcfs york region branch along with markham stouffville hospital and southlake hospital in newmarket i thought the firefighters would be a little more tame and shy said mary coppard a judge and past president of the york region cbcf i was quite pleased to see they went all out twentysix firefighters from markham richmond h01 and vaughan did their best to impress judges dancing gyrating and singing for the crowd at palazzo nightclub in richmond hill in the end 13 were chosen for the cal endar which will be unveiled nov 3 at the cbcf celebration of hope luncheon it will be available through the cbcf offices for 20 chosen from markham are chris lane chris tamaya and ryan best more information on the cbcf is available at wwwcbcforg chris tamaya markham firefighter in breast cancer calendar the regional municipality of york notice of submission term of reference yonge street corridor transitway website wwwcitymarkhamonca as part of the yonge street corridor transitway planning process terms of reference tor were recently submitted to the ontario ministry of environment and energy moee for formal review as required under the provincial environmental assessment act if approved the tor will serve as a benchmark for the preparation and review of the environmental assessment ea document for this undertaking the yonge street corridor transitway is intended to extend the influence of the regional rapid transit network in order to substantially increase transit ridership within york region if approved the proposed undertaking and its alternatives will be located within the yonge street corridor between steeles avenue and 19th avenue as identified in the adjacent map you may inspect the tor during normal business hours at the following locations ministry of environment and energy environmental assessment approvals branch 2 st clair avenue west floor 12a toronto on m4v1l5 416 3148001 ministry of environment and energy central region office 5775 yonge street 8th floor north york on m2m4j1 416 3266700 regional municipality of york office of the regional clerk 17250 yonge street newmarket on l3y6z1 905 8951231 atyof toronto your written comments regarding the tor must be received prior to october 4 2002 all comments should be submitted to donna bigelow special project officer a ministry of the environment and energy environmental assessment approvals branch 2 st clair avenue west toronto on m4v1l5 416 3147225 a copy of all comments will be forwarded to the proponent under the freedom of information and protection of privacy act and the environmental assessment act unless otherwise stated in the submission any personal information such as name address telephone number and property location included in a submission will become part of the public record files for this matter and can be released if requested to any person 1 gion