West Vancouver massage therapist’s licence suspended

The licence of a West Vancouver massage therapist has been suspended by the regulatory body after an undercover investigation found the clinic to be dirty and unclean and the therapist had not kept proper records.

Joanne Argatoff’s licenced has been suspended by the College of Massage Therapists of BC, and she is not entitled to practice as a registered massage therapist in British Columbia while she remains suspended.

As part of this investigation, on August 22, an undercover investigator for the College attended Argatoff’s clinic in West Vancouver posing as a patient and received massage therapy treatment. The investigator observed that the clinic was dirty and there was a dog present. On September 28, two college investigators attended the clinic to conduct an inspection, and observed the reception area to be ‘dimly lit, dirty, cluttered’, and had a strong odour. Additionally, there was a dog lying in the same area.

The therapist was also unable to produce her schedule for at least two of the last three months and was unable to provide treatment records for any of her patients.

“The Inquiry Committee was satisfied that there was a prima facie case that Ms. Argatoff had been uncooperative and non-responsive to the College’s correspondence, had not complied with the College’s Bylaws (specifically, Schedule “E,” the Standard for Patient Records), and had not complied with the College’s Practice Standard on the Practice Environment,” the decision notes.

“The Inquiry Committee panel was satisfied that there is a real, non-speculative, and immediate risk of a recurrence of conduct that is serious in nature and necessitates action to protect the public. Therefore, the panel determined that the public must be protected by additional interim measures during the investigation and pending any discipline hearing.”