The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan has laid two professional misconduct charges against an emergency physician who worked at the Lloydminster Hospital, alleging he diverted a crash patient to North Battleford during a CT scanner outage, resulting in the patient’s death during transport.
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Dr. Mukhtar Ali faces the charges in connection with his conduct at the Lloydminster Hospital on Nov. 16, 2024, the day of a fatal multi-vehicle collision at the junction of Highways 17 and 3 near Alcurve. The College laid the charges on Sept. 26.
Neither charge has been proven and Ali has not admitted the allegations. Under the Medical Profession Act, he is entitled to a hearing before the College’s discipline committee before any finding is made against him.
What happened at Alcurve
The collision was treated as a mass casualty event and left two people dead. The Meridian Source previously reported on the crash in coverage of a collision near Alcurve that left two dead and a related account of the two dead after a collision near Battleford.
A Saskatchewan man faces two counts of dangerous operation causing death in connection with the crash. His blood alcohol concentration measured more than twice the legal limit, but he was not charged with impaired driving after Crown counsel concluded there was insufficient admissible evidence to proceed with that charge, a Civilian Review and Complaints Commission report found. That criminal case remains before the courts and is separate from the College’s proceeding against Ali.
First charge centres on hospital diversion
The first charge against Ali concerns his dual role that day as a treating physician and the area department lead for emergency medicine at Lloydminster Hospital. CT imaging was unavailable at the hospital at the time of the crash, according to the charge.
The charge alleges Ali told hospital staff, or led them to understand, that Lloydminster Hospital was on bypass because of the CT outage, and that a patient identified only as R.O. should instead be sent to North Battleford rather than Lloydminster. R.O. died while being transported by ambulance to North Battleford, according to the charge.
The College alleges Ali also advocated in broader discussions and meetings that trauma patients needing CT imaging should bypass Lloydminster entirely for a facility with CT capability, a position it alleges was inconsistent with Saskatchewan Health Authority policy.
The policy in question, CS-CP-0041, took effect April 1, 2024, and states a CT or radiography disruption alone does not, on its own, trigger a formal emergency department service disruption or justify an EMS bypass.
The policy requires any genuine patient transfer during a disruption to involve direct physician-to-physician contact, a full clinical handover, and coordination through the health authority’s System Flow Coordination Centre. The charge alleges Ali failed in his leadership role by not ensuring Lloydminster physicians and staff had clear direction on managing trauma patients during CT outages.
Second charge involves paramedic interaction
The second charge involves a different patient brought to the Lloydminster emergency department the same day, also injured in the Alcurve collision and accompanied by a paramedic. The charge alleges Ali was upset the paramedic had brought the patient to Lloydminster at all and told him so directly, in a manner the College alleges was scolding, disrespectful and dismissive.
It alleges Ali would not listen when the paramedic tried to deliver a clinical handover, would not allow the patient to be moved off the ambulance stretcher, and told the paramedic he would need to wait to take the patient back.
The charges list several bylaw provisions the College alleges Ali failed to meet, including requirements that physicians consider patient well-being first, take reasonable steps to prevent harm, and render appropriate assistance to patients needing emergency care.
What happens next
The allegations have been referred to the College’s discipline committee and a hearing date has not yet been set. The outcome will determine whether any finding of professional misconduct is made against Ali.
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