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The following is a point-form timeline of events surrounding the commission of inquiry into pathology services at the Miramichi Regional Hospital :

1993 • Former chief executive officer John Tucker hires Dr. Rajgopal Menon as a pathologist at the hospital.

Tucker is later convicted of financial wrongdoing in what became known as The Hospital Trial.

1996 • Menon oversees the set up and move to the new regional hospital and is de facto chief of the pathology lab.

1998 • Surgeons complain about Menon’s lack of professional performance, particularly in regard to delays in completing pathology reports and concerns over quality of care and communications with patients and patients’ relatives.

• Several pathology reports go missing from the hospital while Menon is department head.

• Errors are alleged in diagnoses.

2002 • Menon is officially appointed chief of pathology on March 1.

2004 • Menon’s appointment is initially extended beyond an original two-year period, but on April 21, former CEO Jim Wolstenholme advises Menon his appointment as department head is terminated and an investigation is undertaken into his work. Results from the investigation are deemed unsatisfactory and an external review is ordered.

2005 • June: The Medical Advisory board finds no merit to the complaints.

• The hospital board of trustees is made aware of the review.

2006 • Menon files a lawsuit against the hospital in November alleging administration and medical staff conspired against him to ruin his career. Earlier in the year, relatives of two deceased patients file statements with the college.

2007 • Feb 6: The New Brunswick College of Physicians and Surgeons suspends Menon from practising following a complaint from the hospital that he had put patients at risk by misdiagnosing cancer cases.

• From the time of his hiring to his suspension, Menon is paid over $2 million in salary, fees and expenses.

• November: Menon, now 72, has his license conditionally reinstated on the understanding he completes remedial training in surgical pathology and convinces the college he has demonstrated competency to return to practice.

• The two 2006 statements filed with the college by relatives of deceased patients remain under review going into 2008.

2008 • Feb. 4: Independent pathologist Dr. Rosemary Henderson reports some of Menon’s work is incomplete or misdiagnosed and recommends that 15,000 of his files dating back to 1995 at the Miramichi hospital be reviewed.

• Feb. 11: MRHA hospital president and chief executive officer Gary Foley says patient safety is the hospital’s top priority and provincial minister of health Mike Murphy says the people involved with health care in New Brunswick all want the same thing — to ensure patients are getting accurate diagnoses.

• Lawyers prepare a class-action suit base on Menon’s misdiagnoses.

• Feb. 19: News breaks that Menon has developed screening software for cervical cancer that he claims produces more accurate results than pathologist can produce.

• Feb. 20: The number of cases under review increases from 15,000 to 23,728.

• Feb. 22: The commission is established to investigate 227 Menon’s cases reviewed by Henderson.

• The commission of inquiry is established with Justice Paul S.

Creaghan as commissioner and Marc-Antoine Chiasson and Remy Boudreau as commission counsel and Pauline St. Laurent-Pinto as commission manager.

• March: The first notice of hearings is issued and a list of parties with standing is published on the commission of inquiry website.

The notice identifies three phases of the inquiry. The first and third phases are to be held in Moncton and the second phase is to be held in Miramichi.

• Mar. 17: The commission of inquiry publishes rules of procedure for hearings.

• April: A second notice is issued and in the latter part of the month, the list of witnesses to appear before the inquiry is published.

• April 28: A preliminary meeting is held in Moncton to identify rules to be followed by media and others during the inquiry. May 5-30 are announced as the dates for the first phase of the inquiry.

• May 5: Phase 1 begins at the l’Universite de Moncton, J. R. Frenette Pavilion. During this phase, the inquiry hears testimony from representatives of both national and provincial health care organizations, as well as former hospital CEO’s John Tucker and Jim Wolstenholme and current CEO Gary Foley. The hearings focus on the workings of the various organizations, as well as their connection to the work of Menon.

Witnesses continue to identify lengthy turnaround times, incomplete charting and questionable diagnoses in Menon’s work.

• May 30: Phase one wraps up with testimony from two key figures in the inquiry: Dr. Rosemary Henderson, the pathologist responsible for the review of Menon’s work, and pathologist Dr. Rajgopal Menon himself.

• June: Inquiry moves to the Miramichi Exhibition Pavilion.

• June 9-11: The first three days are set aside to hear submissions from private individuals. This part of Inquiry is closed to the public.

• June 12-June 24: Physicians and surgeons from the Miramichi Regional Health Authority appear before the commission.

• July 31: The commission is scheduled to inform Menon and the Canadian Medical Protective Association whether or not privilege can be maintained on specific documents.

• July-Aug: The commission is set to continue to sort through documentation in preparation for the re-calling of witnesses.

• Sept. 8: Phase 3 of the commission of inquiry is set to begin at l’Universite de Moncton’s Raymond Frenette Pavilion.