How to File a Complaint

 

The Manual Osteopathy Association of Manitoba protects the public’s right to safe, effective and ethical manual osteopathic care. The MOAM is responsible for investigating complaints made against osteopathic manual practitioners who are its members and, when necessary, disciplining its members who are found to be incompetent or guilty of professional misconduct.

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If you have a concern, you may contact the MOAM by mail or email to discuss the matter initially. If you want to file a formal complaint, complaints must be filed in writing. You can send your concerns or complaints to our complaints committee chair via the following email address: moamcomplaints@gmail.com

 

Important! 

The MOAM can only investigate complaints related to our members and does not investigate sexual assault or insurance fraud. We cannot address anonymous complaints.

Sexual Assault: To report a sexual assault call 911 in emergency situations or local emergency services where 911 is not available or 204-986-6222 for non-emergency situations. To speak to a detective from the Winnipeg Police Sex Crimes Unit in confidence, call 204-986-6245

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To file a formal complaint:

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1) Please include your name and contact information.

2) Write a concise description of the incident/situation/problem. Include the name of the manual osteopath, location of the service, date, times, and any pertinent details, with as much information as possible about your concerns or the incident(s) in question, such as dates and names of individuals who may have been involved or who would be able to provide additional information.

3) Include copies of relevant documents, like receipts, photos, and supporting information. You also may want to send copies of emails and notes from conversations you have had with the manual osteopath about the problem. Please keep your originals.​

 

The Complaints Process

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The Manual Osteopathy Association of Manitoba has established a framework for dealing with complaints.

 

1) The MOAM must determine if the therapist is a member of the MOAM

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2) If the therapist is a confirmed member of the MOAM, we then require a written complaint to be filed with the Association by email to the Executive Director, Janet Maendel at moamcomplaints@gmail.com or by letter mail to our office.

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3) We will review the complaint and determine if we can resolve the complaint informally or send the complaint for review to the Complaints Investigation to gather more information and provide a report and recommendation to the MOAM Executive Director. The investigation team may need to interview you. We cannot address anonymous complaints.

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4) The Executive Director will then provide you with a written notice of a decision, the reasons for the decision, and any actions we will commit to. 

 

The MOAM is obliged to give the osteopathic manual practitioner a copy of the complaint and provide an opportunity for the osteopathic manual practitioner to respond to the complaint in a meeting with the MOAM.

It is the responsibility of the Inquiries and Complaints Committee, which consists of osteopathic manual practitioners (and in the future appointed public members) to ensure that a fair, thorough and discrete investigation is conducted and that an appropriate decision is made based on the results of the investigation.

The Inquiries and Complaints Committee issues its decision in writing and may take any of the following actions:

• refer allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence to the Discipline Committee;

• require the member to appear before the committee to be cautioned;

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The Disciplinary Process

 

The Discipline Committee adjudicates specified allegations of professional misconduct referred to the committee by the Inquiries and Complaints committee.

The Discipline Committee makes final decisions based on the evidence presented and imposes penalties, including reprimands, fines, suspension of licenses and, in serious cases, revocation of licenses.

The maximum penalty the Discipline Committee may impose is revocation of a license with no possibility of reinstatement.

Discipline decisions, except for findings of sexual abuse, remain on the public register for six years. Sexual abuse findings remain on the public register permanently.

If a former member moves to another jurisdiction, the MOAM will not provide that member with a letter of good standing if there is a discipline finding against him/her.