TORONTO — Karin Martin couldn't sleep last Sunday night after reading a letter from Toronto Public Health that drowned her with worry.
It was sent to 2,500 patients who had potentially been exposed to bloodborne viruses including HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C due to what the agency described as a failure to properly clean, disinfect and sterilize medical instruments at gynecologist Dr. Esther Park’s office in the city's west end.
The letter said patients who received endometrial biopsies, IUD insertions or had cervical growths removed at the clinic between Oct. 10, 2020 and Oct. 10, 2024 should get tested for potential infection.
“How do you even process that?” Martin said.
She had three biopsies with Park last spring and summer before she was diagnosed with uterine cancer and went into an emergency surgery in September with another physician, followed by a hefty recovery period.
“I was just trying to put it all behind me. And then when I got the letter … It just all came crashing back,” Martin said.
Toronto Public Health's website states it received a patient complaint in September, and found inadequate disinfection of medical instruments and relevant quality assurance record keeping at Park’s office.
Attempts to reach Park at her office by phone were not successful. She did not respond to voice mails asking for comment.
"To date, there are no infections that are confirmed to be attributed to the clinic’s practices," Toronto Public Health's media relations adviser Dane Griffiths said in an email Friday.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said Friday it launched an investigation into infection control issues in Park's practice and that it is ongoing. "Currently, Dr. Park is allowed to practice as per the terms and conditions on her licence," Mickey Cirak, a communications adviser at the college, said in an email Friday.
Their website states Park restricted her practice in December to office-based gynecology. It also says she agreed to engage in professional education, including in medical record-keeping.
Toronto public health officials also recommended Park use single-use instruments instead of reusable ones "where possible."
Park’s office voice mail says that she is retiring and plans to close her office at 20 Edna Ave., near Bathurst Street and Dundas Street West, in April.
Unity Health says she resigned from her posting at St. Joseph’s hospital in December.
Appointments for patients like Lucie Stengs, who had her second IUD insertion scheduled to take place with Park in March, were moved up in the calendar.
Stengs said she sensed a “different vibe” when she visited the office in January. Her last visit in 2020 had felt standard, quick and painless.
But this time she said Park barely made eye contact and ran out of the room several times while the speculum was inserted because her supplies weren't restocked. Stengs also noticed that Park was using a single-use plastic instrument instead of a metal one like last time.
But she didn’t think much more about the experience until this week, when a social media notification with Park’s name caught her eye.
“My heart just dropped. I was filled with anxiety,” she said when she saw a post about the letter public health officials sent patients.
But Stengs never received a letter because her appointments took place just outside of the date range.
“I feel personally concerned about why they've excluded people before and after those dates,” Stengs said. She made an appointment with her family doctor for next week to discuss the situation.
She took it as a good sign that Park had seemingly switched to single-use equipment at her last visit, but she said it doesn't change the fact that so many other people had an experience with possibly unsterilized equipment.
“It just made me feel like perhaps it was too little too late."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press
