As part of its mandate to protect the public, the ACDH is responsible for addressing complaints of unprofessional conduct made about its registrants. The complaints process is outlined in Part 4 of the Health Professions Act (HPA). A complaint can be made by anyone about a registrant. Unprofessional conduct is defined in the HPA and includes a breach of the Standards of Practice, the Code of Ethics, or conduct that harms the integrity of the profession. 

Complaints are handled objectively and compassionately, with an aim to addressing concerns and reducing the risk to the public. When possible, ACDH strives to resolve complaints with a focus on remediation and education.

The College received an increase in complaints in the 2023-2024 period. Some themes of the complaints received involved the following issues:

• Registrants exceeding their scope of practice
• Compliance with Infection Prevention and Control
• Compliance with the Advertising Standard of Practice
• The conduct and/or skill of a registrant

ACDH received one complaint alleging sexual misconduct towards a patient in 2024. The matter was investigated and dismissed due to a finding of insufficient evidence of unprofessional conduct. A review of the dismissal was not sought.

In the 2023-2024 period, there were a significant number of complaints initiated by the Complaints Director. Section 56 enables the complaints director to initiate a complaint when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the conduct of a registrant constitutes unprofessional conduct. Broadly, in 2024, complaints were initiated by the Complaints Director based on referrals from the Registrar following practice inspections, concerns relayed to ACDH by Alberta Health Services, and escalation resulting from registrants’ failure to respond to College communications and meet legislative requirements.