A missing Montreal doctor who allegedly abandoned his practice and 1,500 patients may have been involved in organized crime.
READ MORE: Montreal doctor allegedly goes missing, abandons 1,500 patients
A man, who identified himself as Dr. Trevor Wesson, showed up at Global News’ office in Halifax, N.S.
Visibly agitated, he said he wanted to give an interview explaining he was afraid for his life and had to leave the province of Quebec because he had gotten involved in organized crime.
Wesson’s mother, whom a friend tells Global News is too distraught to give an interview, said she was not aware that her son was missing.
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In an email to Global News, the friend explained Wesson’s mother, who lives in New Brunswick, had emailed him on his birthday, Oct. 15, but did not hear back.
She said she had contacted the RCMP, but was told to speak to local authorities.
Montreal police reiterated to Global News Monday that it is not intervening in the case as a missing persons report was never filed.
Left in limbo
Ayanna Roberts has been a patient of Wesson’s since he opened his clinic in 2012, when she had her thyroid removed due to cancer.
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“He has supported me through the various medication changes, hypertension, generalized anxiety disorder and fertility issues among other things,” she told Global News.
“I discovered that he was missing when my pharmacist needed to contact him due to a shortage of one of my medications. We then discovered that he apparently never came back from vacation.”
Due to her chronic illnesses, Roberts said she saw Wesson once a month, until last summer when he said she would no longer need regular follow-ups.
She recalled Wesson had a lot of staff on his team, including two receptionists and a nurse.
“Earlier this year, there was suddenly turnover. I didn’t see the receptionist, the nurse. There were new people around, but it still seemed to be running,” she said, adding that he had just returned from a trip in New Zealand.
“He seemed anxious. I could see it was deteriorating in his environment.”
Once she discovered he was unreachable, Roberts explained she went to the clinic but couldn’t get to the third floor, where his office was.
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“The building security told me that they were also looking for him,” she said, adding that she then contacted the Quebec College of Physicians to report him missing.
“Without a family doctor following me, I will be in a situation of deteriorating health.”
As Wesson is still officially on file as Roberts’ family physician, she said she has not been able to be assigned another doctor.
She now has to call her local CLSC to see what can be done.
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“It’s sad because Dr. Wesson cared a lot and felt somewhat crushed by the Quebec system. He was a good guy — who did seem stressed out at times — but he cared,” Roberts told Global News.
“I am torn because on one hand I am angry at him for disappearing. I feel betrayed.”
“On the other hand, I am really worried about him and I hope he is OK. It’s sad to see him go out like this.”
Abandoned
According to the Quebec College of Physicians, Wesson allegedly disappeared, abandoning 1,500 patients and his practice as of Oct. 6.
After receiving reports from several people, including Roberts, the College made an urgent request to a Quebec court to stop Wesson from accessing his patients’ files on online platforms Dossier Santé Québec and Omnimed.
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“For the last few months, Dr. Wesson’s patients have not been able to obtain an appointment or contact him; messages left on the clinic’s voicemail have gone unanswered,” the court document states.
The College has taken on his dossiers to follow up with patients awaiting results from exams like mammography and blood tests.
“It goes without saying that these exams lead to results that require an immediate followup to reduce the risk to patients,” the College said.
It is also working to help refill prescriptions for patients in treatment.
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Wesson became a member of the Quebec College of Physicians on Jan. 25, 2012, and had been practising medicine at the Novomed clinic at 500 Saint-Jacques St. Ouest in Montreal.
In the court document, the College confirmed that, despite his apparent disappearance, Wesson is still registered as an active member of the order.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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