Philip Adam Towsley (2007)

Following a hearing on March 7, 2007, a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario found that Mr. Philip Adam Towsley engaged in professional misconduct by:

• contravening the Occupational Therapy Act, the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 or the regulations under either of those Acts; and
• engaging in conduct or performing an act relevant to the practice of the profession that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional.

Mr. Towsley and the College presented an agreed statement of facts, which was accepted by the Discipline Committee panel. Based on the agreed statement of facts, the panel found that Mr. Towsley was consistently late in providing client invoices to the College in accordance with an undertaking (but the invoices were eventually submitted); in 2001 he failed to provide proof of professional liability insurance in a timely manner (but there was no lapse in coverage); he refused to sign his Quality Assurance Declaration on his annual renewal in 2002 because he did not understand all of the Quality Assurance standards; and, he provided a late and incomplete submission as part of a Quality Assurance competency review. Based on this response, Mr. Towlsley was required to undergo a Quality Assurance competency evaluation. As a result of that evaluation, Mr. Towsley was required to complete a remediation program. From 2005 to the date of the hearing in 2007, he failed to provide information as required by the remediation program in a timely manner or at all.

Mr. Towsley admitted that his conduct constituted professional misconduct.

The College and Mr. Towsley presented a joint submission on penalty, which was accepted by the Discipline Committee panel. Accordingly, the panel ordered:

1. Mr. Towsley will receive a reprimand on a date to be set by the Registrar, the fact of which shall be recorded on the College register;
   
   
2. The Registrar is directed to suspend Mr. Towsley’s certificate of registration for two weeks, to be served on a date to be set by the Registrar;
   
   
3. One week of the suspension referred to in paragraph 2 herein will be suspended if Mr. Towsley complies with the terms, conditions and limitations of this order and pays in full the costs described in section 9 herein. That second week of the suspension will be served if Mr. Towsley fails to pay the costs described in section 9 within the deadline set out therein;
   
   
4. The Registrar is directed to impose a term, condition and limitation on Mr. Towsley’s certificate of registration that requires him to successfully complete a course on professional regulation/conduct approved by the Registrar at his cost at his earliest opportunity but in any event no later than 9 months after the Discipline panel’s order becomes final;
   
   
5. The Registrar is directed to impose a term, condition and limitation on Mr. Towsley’s certificate of registration that requires him to write a letter of apology to the Quality Assurance Committee acceptable to the Registrar, which demonstrates appropriate reflection upon his behaviour, to be done within 30 days of the Discipline panel’s order becoming final;
   
   
6. The Registrar is directed to impose a term, condition and limitation on Mr. Towsley’s certificate of registration that requires him to comply with all currently outstanding Quality Assurance requirements within 60 days;
   
   
7. The Registrar is directed to impose a term, condition and limitation on Mr. Towsley’s certificate of registration that requires him to comply with the requirements of the Quality Assurance Program in a timely manner in the future;
   
   
8. The Registrar is directed to impose a term, condition and limitation on Mr. Towsley’s certificate of registration that requires him to respond to the College appropriately and within the timeline given by the College to any written inquiry made by the College that requests a response; and
   
   
9. Mr. Towsley will pay to the College costs in the amount of $2,250.00, to be paid by way of 18 equal monthly instalments of $125.00, the first payment of which shall be made no later than the 15th day of the first month after the Discipline panel’s order becomes final. Post-dated cheques for the entire amount will be provided to the College the day of the hearing.

The panel found that the penalty was reasonable and in the public interest. The panel acknowledged that Mr. Towsley admitted responsibility and avoided the expenses which would otherwise have been incurred had a contested hearing been required.