A southern Manitoba paramedic has had his licence revoked for coming into a sexual relationship with a affected person who had a historical past of psychological well being points.
Kirk Seniuk has been barred from practising paramedicine for not less than 18 months after pleading responsible to pursuing the connection from 2022 to 2023, the Faculty of Paramedics of Manitoba’s (CPM) inquiry committee panel stated in a call printed final month.
The affected person — who died in 2023 — began contacting Seniuk over Fb in early 2022. In accordance with the choice, each despatched messages to one another “on and off” over the subsequent 13 months, and ultimately exchanged nude pictures and sexually express messages.
Seniuk denied he had intercourse with the affected person, however the faculty says they met 4 occasions whereas he was off responsibility and that the person admitted there have been a pair situations of “intimate touching.”
The affected person complained to the school in late 2022, however its choice says she by no means replied to their makes an attempt to contact her, and that she died about two months after the school suggested her she might re-open the criticism at any time.
Seniuk was fired round June 2023 after an inner investigation, and has not labored as a paramedic since.
‘Inherent energy imbalances’
The school says Seniuk had first-hand information when he launched into the connection that the lady was in “a very weak state,” having a historical past of psychological well being points and substance abuse,, .
“There are inherent energy imbalances within the provision of well being care, and within the overwhelming majority of circumstances these dynamics favour the health-care supplier,” the choice says, citing the opinion of a medical ethics skilled retained to weigh in on Seniuk’s conduct.
“The facility differentials are extraordinarily tough to navigate in a private relationship between a health-care supplier and a affected person; most health-care regulators warn of those risks and discourage such relationships.”
Seniuk had responded to seven of the affected person’s emergency calls earlier than they began messaging one another on Fb, and noticed her 4 different occasions in his skilled function after the connection started, in accordance with the choice.
The choice says in a type of later situations, the paramedic didn’t take his EMS tools with him, and didn’t full a affected person care report.
The panel factors out he additionally deleted the Fb messages with the affected person as soon as the investigation started, and tried to mislead the school, admitting to the bodily interactions together with her after initially denying them.
No earlier complaints in 20 years of service
Nonetheless, it additionally says the person had acquired no earlier complaints in his 20 years of service in central and southern Manitoba, and that the difficulties he’ll discover getting a job as a paramedic if he is ever reinstated are additionally a mitigating issue.
“The agricultural setting through which the misconduct occurred doesn’t represent a licence to cross the moral boundaries which all paramedics should observe,” the panel stated.
“If something, the agricultural setting provides yet one more layer of potential pitfalls and issues for the paramedic and calls for an elevated or enhanced diploma of diligent adherence to the Code, the Requirements, and the Follow Instructions.”
Seniuk will not be allowed to re-apply to get his licence again for not less than 18 months, and should first full some ethics and paramedic requirements programs. He was additionally ordered to pay the school $10,000 in month-to-month instalments.
