Kamloops dentist permanently banned from sedating patients in 2nd misconduct case

A B.C. dental surgeon with a history of discipline related to serious complications during surgery has been permanently barred from sedating patients.

Dr. Bobby Rishiraj has also agreed to step down as director of the Kamloops Oral Surgery and Implant Centre and to pay $29,000 in fines and costs, but will retain his licence, according to a consent agreement from the College of Dental Surgeons of B.C.

The disciplinary action comes after Rishiraj admitted to committing professional misconduct for a second time in the face of allegations he "incompetently practised dentistry," according to a notice from the college.

He acknowledged that he failed to: maintain proper sedation records; record his patients' levels of consciousness and required pre-operative assessments; make sure staff were properly trained to assist with moderate sedation; maintain medication and equipment on the clinic's mobile emergency cart; and properly store restricted drugs.

The latest disciplinary action comes six years after Rishiraj was temporarily suspended from practice and ordered to pay more than $100,000 in fines and costs after a teenage girl suffered a heart attack leading to severe brain damage while she was under deep sedation.

In that case, Rishiraj admitted to performing deep sedation on 12 patients without approval to do so. A college discipline panel also found that he failed to properly monitor patients while they were sedated, and ran his clinic to promote "efficiencies" by trying to see as many patients as possible in as little time as possible.

He was suspended from practice for three months in that case and ordered to complete a course in ethics.

The more recent issues with his work were first noticed during tri-annual inspections of his clinic, and verified through a review of 17 patients' records, according to the college.

The conditions of Rishiraj's latest discipline also stipulate that he cannot be the operator or director of any clinic that provides sedation. The college has formally reprimanded him as well.