Grande Prairie doctor responds to CSPA suspending license for sexual relationship with patient

I would like to provide my perspective on the decision of the CPSA hearing tribunal relating to my complaint. To be clear, I acknowledge that I had a sexual relationship with a former patient, and I accept the decision of the CPSA hearing tribunal. However, I would like the public to be aware of some pertinent details related to my case which are not evident in the CPSA media release.

‘Patient A’ was not my patient at the time that the sexual relationship occurred. I last provided medical treatment to ‘Patient A’ in December 2018. The sexual relationship between myself and ‘Patient A’ started eight months after that, and occurred between August and November 2019. I believe it is important for people to know that a new law came into effect in Alberta on April 1, 2019. The name of this law is “An Act to Protect Patients”. This law changed the definition of ‘patient’ to include any person a physician has treated in the past year. I would like people to know that An Act to Protect Patients considers any type of sexual relationship between a physician and a patient to constitute “sexual abuse”. When a physician is found guilty of sexual abuse, her/his medical license is permanently revoked. Although I am currently suspended pending sanction, under An Act to Protect Patients, there is only one possible outcome. My license to practice medicine in Alberta is going to be permanently revoked. This is an outcome that I accept.
I voluntarily reported the sexual relationship between myself and ‘Patient A’ to the CPSA. The CPSA media release states that I “was accused” of having a sexual relationship with ‘Patient A’. I would like to share that the person who accused me… was me. The CPSA became aware that I had a personal relationship with ‘Patient A’ following a complaint by a third party in the spring of 2019. However, no one reported to the CPSA that a sexual relationship occurred between August and November of 2019. The CPSA only became aware of the sexual relationship when I myself reported it to them in January 2020.
Being honest with the CPSA about my actions was of great importance to me. I was accused of submitting false information on my 2020 CPSA Renewal Information Form in December 2019. I would like people to know that honesty is very important to me. It was incredibly important to me to tell the truth about my behaviour – so important, in fact, that I was prepared to tell the truth even if it meant I would lose my medical license forever. The question on the Renewal Information Form asked if I was involved in an inappropriate personal or sexual relationship with a patient that the CPSA was not already aware of. I answered ‘no’ to this question as the CPSA was already aware of the inappropriate personal relationship. At the time I answered ‘no’ to this question, I had already scheduled a face-to-face meeting with the CPSA for January 2020 to self-report the sexual nature of the relationship. I reported the sexual relationship between myself and ‘Patient A’ to a registrar of the CPSA on January 23, 2020, and I reported the sexual relationship between myself and ‘Patient A’ to the Complaints Director of the CPSA on January 24, 2020.

I would like to thank my community for its support during this difficult time, and I hope that sharing my perspective has been helpful. It is highly extreme to permanently revoke a physician’s medical license. It is the worst possible professional outcome. I hope my case will encourage reflection and consideration. Do people believe that physicians like myself should lose their medical licenses forever?

The CPSA made Dr. Hudson’s suspension of practice public on January 13, 2023, and claims the physician’s conduct constituted sexual abuse under the Health Professions Act.

SEE MORE: Grande Prairie physician suspended after sexual relationship with patient

by Erika Rolling

Grande Prairie doctor responds to CSPA suspending license for sexual relationship with patient

Our Community