Toronto gynecologist under scrutiny for disinfection of tools resigns from college

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A gynecologist has resigned from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario after Toronto Public Health told patients earlier this year that instruments were not properly cleaned and disinfected at her clinic.

A notice on the college website states that Dr. Esther Park, whose licence was restricted to office-based gynecology in December, will effectively stop practising medicine on Wednesday.

It says Park is resigning following investigations into her care that were launched after two public complaints.

It also states that Park promises to never reapply to register as a doctor in Ontario or anywhere else, and that her resignation means those investigations are now over.

Mickey Cirak, a communications adviser at the college, said this goes a step further than other measures imposed by the college.

“Unlike with licence revocations, doctors who sign these types of undertakings will not be able to reapply for reinstatement of their licence in the future,” Cirak said Monday.

The college says the reason Park resigned and the complaints that led up to it are confidential.

The Canadian Press has not been able to reach Park for comment by telephone, which goes straight to voice mail. CP has previously made attempts to speak with Park at her clinic, but she did not return a request for comment.

Medical malpractice lawyer Paul Harte, a 30-year veteran who has not been involved in this matter, said such deals are not uncommon and typically happen when there are significant concerns with patient care and/or the physician is nearing the end of their career.

“Those sorts of deals, on the one hand, obviously protect the public from the doctor in question, but it doesn’t provide transparency to the public and it ignores the potential for general deterrence,” Harte said.

He said that leaves patients in the dark.

“One of the lingering issues is, should the college have acted sooner? What did the college know and when? That information will never be known in the absence of a public hearing,” Harte said.

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Park’s resignation states she was not referred to the discipline tribunal, which typically posts details of allegations and outcomes online.

Park had sent out a notice of retirement to patients in January informing them that her practice would close at the end of April.

Karin Martin, one of Park’s former patients, said she’s raging.

She was one of the 2,500 patients who received a letter from Toronto Public Health in February warning of potential exposure to blood-borne viruses including HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C due to what it described as a failure to properly clean, disinfect and sterilize medical instruments.

Martin, who had three biopsies with Park last year, said ending the investigations into Park’s practice is “insane,” adding that she’s concerned the public may never know what the patient complaints were about.

“She just gets to walk away now?” she said.

Martin said her anger is directed at Park, the college and government regulatory bodies.

The college closed its investigation without disclosing if it was complete.

“CPSO’s primary mandate is to serve in the public interest through the regulation of physicians and physician assistants. We take concerns about accountability and transparency seriously,” the college said in an email Monday.

According to the college’s website, Park obtained her medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1993 and she opened her own clinic in 2006. Unity Health said she practised at St. Joseph’s Health Centre for 25 years, stopped practising at the hospital in July 2024 and resigned in December.