Nigerian doctor in Canada Efe Ovueni suspended for hugging, blowing colleague kiss

Canada-based Nigerian doctor Efe Ovueni has been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta Tribunal for getting intimate with his colleague at work. 

The suspension was announced on Thursday following a hearing by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) tribunal — the hearing was concluded in December 2021. 

Ovueni was suspended for three months over unprofessional conduct by hugging and blowing a kiss at his co-worker without her consent. 

The doctor was also fined $3,000 and is liable for the undisclosed cost of the hearing and investigation. 

Ovueni was found to have committed the offence on January 21, 2020. He admitted his unprofessional conduct during the tribunal hearing, promising to turn a new leaf. 

“Ovueni’s practice permit shall be suspended for a period of three months, with two weeks to be served on dates acceptable to the Complaints Director and completed within six months of the date the Hearing Tribunal issues its written decision and 2.5 months held in abeyance on the condition that no further boundary concerns come to the attention of the Complaints Director and are referred to an investigation for a period of five years after the date the Hearing Tribunal issues its written decision,” the tribunal held. 

The tribunal also said that the doctor’s actions did not meet the criteria for sexual misconduct under the Health Professions Act since the victim was a member of staff and not a patient. 

“Rather, this was a case of a boundary violation between a physician and a co-worker, demonstrating unprofessional conduct that was wholly unacceptable,” the tribunal’s report added.