Written Hearing
Some people are satisfied to have their review conducted without being there. In this case, neither party attends the hearing. Only the three members of the HPARB panel are present. The College will provide the ROI, and the Appellant will be asked to give his or her comments to the HPARB in writing. The panel will go over the complaints committee decision, the ROI, and the Appellant’s written statement, and make their decision. There is no transcript.
Oral Hearing
An oral hearing at the Board similar to a court hearing, but less formal.
At the hearing there will be three HPARB members, called the panel. Other people that might attend the hearing are: the professional the complaint was made about, a legal representative for the professional, a representative from the College, and maybe a lawyer for HPARB.
Before the hearing, the panel will have reviewed the ROI. They will be ready to listen to what you and the health professional or their representative has to say.
Since the HPARB panel will be looking only at whether the investigation done by the complaints committee of the college was adequate, and that their decision was reasonable, it is important that any comments are only about these issues. HPARB will allow you to show documents at the hearing to help them tell your story. If you bring in other issues or get off topic, the Panel may ask you to stop. The Panel may ask questions to be sure they understand what you are saying.
You will speak first. You cannot ask the health professions any questions, and must direct all your questions to the Panel. The health professional or their representative will speak next. You will have a chance to ask questions and respond to what they say.
During the hearing, you are allowed only to speak to the Panel. You cannot speak directly to other parties. If you have a question, ask the Panel. The Panel will decide whether they will ask the question to the other party. Once the parties have had a chance to present all their arguments, and all the questions that are allowed have been asked and answered, the panel will thank everyone for their participation and the hearing will be closed.
How the HPARB panel makes a Decision
After the hearing, the panel will meet in private, review the ROI, and consider all the information provided by both sides. They will decide whether the investigation of the complaints committee was adequate and whether the decision reached by the complaints committee was reasonable.
It is important to understand that the decision of the complaints committee does not necessarily have to be right, either in your opinion or in the opinion of the HPARB panel. The HPARB panel will consider only whether the complaints committee has conducted an adequate investigation, and has come to a reasonable decision based on the information in the ROI. The HPARB panel will not consider any other issues.
The panel will write their decision, including the reasons for their decision, and mail it to the parties.