The Discipline Committee makes decisions in cases where an RECE has been accused of professional misconduct and/or incompetence by the Complaints Committee following investigation.
The College is required to publish summaries of cases where Discipline Committee has decided the RECE is guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence. These summaries are posted on our blog.
We are also required to publish the full written decisions from Discipline cases, which can be found on the Hearings Office’s website and on CanLII, the Canadian Legal Information Institute’s website.
Pawandip Kaur Sidhu, RECE # 06610
Facts: The Member was working in a supervisory role at the child care centre. She did not notice that a two-year-old child in her care wandered unsupervised into the centre’s kitchen. Another RECE and the cook were in the kitchen at the time. The cook bumped into the child and spilled hot oatmeal on their face as they removed the pot from the stove. The child screamed and was in pain. The Member learned what happened when she heard the child screaming.
As a result of the incident, the child was hospitalized with first and second degree burns. They had scarring on their face that was visible about one year later. This had devastating effects on the child’s family.
Following the incident, the Member instructed the other RECE who was in the kitchen to write an incident report that said that hot tea spilled on the child’s face as this other RECE was walking out of the kitchen. The RECE reluctantly agreed and submitted the false and misleading report. The Member signed the report and provided it to the child’s parent. She also provided false and misleading information about the incident to the centre’s management.
The other RECE received a reprimand letter from management for her alleged role in the incident. The Member continued to dissuade the other RECE from telling the truth. The Member pressured the other RECE to sign the reprimand letter, saying that she was acting in the other RECE’s best interests.
Findings: The Committee decided that the Member was guilty of professional misconduct under Ontario Regulation 223/08, including failing to supervise adequately a person who was under her professional supervision, failing to maintain the standards of the profession, acting or failing to act in a manner that, having regard to the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, signing or issuing, in the Member’s professional capacity, a document that the Member knows or ought to know contains a false, improper or misleading statement, failing to keep records as required by her professional responsibilities, and acting in a manner that is unbecoming a member.
The Panel was very troubled that the Member, who was in a supervisory position, intentionally submitted a false and misleading incident report in attempt to cover up her failure to adequately supervise the child and the real reason for the child’s injury instead of taking responsibility for what happened. The Member also misused her authority to pressure others to act dishonestly, including another RECE who was wrongly reprimanded and could have also potentially faced misconduct consequences.
This is one of the most serious cases to ever come before the Discipline Committee. Given the egregiousness of the Member’s conduct and the severity of the child’s injury, the Panel felt a very serious penalty was needed to support the Member’s rehabilitation and to protect children and the public. The Panel highlighted that the Member’s ability to gain insight through completion of a required course and required mentorship – including recognizing and taking responsibility for what she did wrong – will be key factors in the Member’s rehabilitation. A serious penalty also sends a strong message to the Member and the profession that this conduct will not be tolerated.
Penalty:
The Committee ordered the following to penalty and costs:
- The Member’s certificate of registration was suspended for at least 24 months. This is the longest possible suspension allowed by law.
- Terms, conditions and limitations were imposed on the Member’s certificate of registration. These include completing a course and mentorship that must be completed before the Member can return to practise.
- The Member must appear before the Discipline Committee to be reprimanded.
- The Member must pay costs to the College in the amount of $1,000.
The full decision can be found here, linked under the heading “Special Notices”.