A psychologist hired to care for young patients claims she was “forced to engage in misconduct and other violations of professional standards” and then fired without cause when she complained to the provincial regulator.

The allegations are detailed in a lawsuit filed this week against Shared Health and the University of Manitoba in the Court of King’s Bench.

According to the suit, Dr. Michelle Keiski filed a complaint with the Psychological Association of Manitoba in September 2022 to raise the alarm about problems within the Max Rady College of Medicine, including misreporting of studies and data, and staff providing services they are not. qualified to deliver.

Keiski, a clinical psychologist, was placed on administrative leave a month after the complaint was filed and then fired without cause, according to the lawsuit.

“The only reasonable explanation she was aware of was that she was terminated for fulfilling her professional and ethical obligations in filing her complaint,” the statement said.

“The decision to terminate his employment was retaliatory and baseless. »

Keiski was recruited from Kingston, Ontario, and began working in a joint term position with the university and Shared Health in October 2021. The term was for 33 months and ended June 30, 2024, according to the suit .

Keiski’s work at the university included teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She was also responsible for administrative work related to governance, policy development, program planning and program implementation, she said.

She specializes in neuropsychology, a branch of psychology that focuses on how brain diseases affect cognition and behavior.

In his role at Shared Health, Keiski was to conduct research and provide neuropsychology services to youth with neurological injuries or illnesses, including some pediatric patients requiring surgery for epilepsy. She came to the province knowing her role would eventually expand to adult patients undergoing epilepsy surgery, she said.

Keiski reportedly earns an annual salary of $119,336. His employment contract included a provision that either party could terminate the contract with six months’ written notice, according to the lawsuit.

After working for a year in Manitoba, Keiski said she became aware of issues impacting the delivery of epilepsy surgery services within Max Rady and the Department of Clinical Health Psychology for about a year. decade.

Keiski said she raised her concerns with the head of her department, Dr. Lesley Graff, who made statements “indicating that she was aware of the long-standing problem regarding the misrepresentation of qualifications and/or services,” according to the lawsuit. .

“Dr. Keiski ensured that Dr. Graff was aware of problematic patient care issues.” Nevertheless, there were indications of an intention to persist on these and other matters of concern,” the document states.

During this time, Keiski claims she was under pressure to commit misconduct.

She was told “there were concerns” that she might speak critically of Shared Health and the university, and that “her employment may depend on her refraining from expressing such criticism.” “, the lawsuit states.

Keiski consulted with a psychological association registrar before filing the complaint, she said.

Shared Health and the university then provided her with a letter stating she was being terminated without cause. The parties awarded her six months’ notice pay, she said.

“During his employment with Defendants, Dr. Keiski provided high quality care to all of his patients, performed his duties as an assistant professor competently, and consistently met and/or exceeded his professional obligations,” the lawsuit states.

“(She) had a professional and ethical obligation to file a complaint with the regulator when misconduct had occurred or could reasonably be believed to have occurred.”

Keiski is seeking an unspecified amount in damages for her dismissal, which she called “harsh, vindictive, reprehensible, malicious and deserving of judicial condemnation.”

The allegations have not been tested in court.

Greg Bartel and Abram Silver, the Myers LLP attorneys representing Keiski in his claim, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The Psychological Association of Manitoba said it could not discuss details of Keiski’s complaint, including whether it was still under investigation or had been dismissed.

Representatives for Shared Health and the University of Manitoba each declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

Problems surrounding treatment for people with epilepsy are long-standing and well-documented in Manitoba, with adult patients forced for years to seek surgery outside the province, in part due to outdated equipment and poor quality. a lack of staff.

In March, the provincial government opened a new four-bed adult epilepsy monitoring unit at the Health Sciences Center and said it is working to bring surgeries to Manitoba. There was a waiting list of about 200 other patients needing such care at that time, the province said.

THE Free press previously reported, approximately 15 pediatric patients had undergone surgery each year between 2017 and June 2022.

In September 2021, when Keiski was recruited into the health system, a Winnipeg Brain Surgeon announced he was leaving Manitoba because the province had failed to adequately fund an adult epilepsy surgery program.

When the news of Dr. Demitre Serletis’ departure broke, another neurosurgeonDr. Juan Pablo Appendino, revealed that he, too, was hired to create a surgery program in 2010, but then abandoned the project and left the province due to limited funding.

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Tyler Searle
Journalist

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free pressThe city office. A graduate of the creative communications program at Red River College Polytechnic, he has written for the Tribune of Teulon of Stonewall, Selkirk Record And Express weekly news before joining the journal in 2022. Learn more about Tyler.

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