-Ramsammy
Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy says no final decision has been reached in the matter involving Dr Mahendra Chand and his treatment of a teenage boy who was tortured while in police custody.
The Medical Council of Guyana will make a recommendation to the Minister based on its findings and Ramsammy stressed yesterday that no such information has reached his desk. He told reporters at a press briefing that the recommendation is “also not in the mail” because the Council is still compiling information in the case. He said the information flowing out of a Council meeting on Friday last was preliminary and “inaccurately reported in the press”.
Stabroek News was told on Saturday by a source close to the council that the doctor had been found guilty of medical misconduct and it was decided that he should be suspended for two months. He would now be given the opportunity to show cause why such a penalty shouldn’t be applied and if the penalty is upheld, this suspension decision would then be forwarded to Ramsammy for approval in accordance with the Medical Council of Guyana Act.
Ramsammy yesterday declined to comment on the case saying the final decision rests with him and that any pronouncement “at this stage would be prejudicial”. The Minister will determine what course of action to take against Chand after the Council wraps up its investigations and submits a recommendation to him. However, he disclosed that Chand has been asked to respond to initial findings surrounding his conduct and also has been asked to say what action he believes should be taken against him.
Three options are open to the Council which Ramsammy summed up as stripping Chand of his licence; suspending him for a period of time or censuring him. He said no decision has been reached because the Council is being cautious by offering Chand all opportunities to explain himself. “…so that no one can say that they acted arbitrarily and [so] that a court cannot find them as being unfair”, he added. The Minister recalled that the Council has been the subject of court action in the past, adding that it is working currently to act within the law and based on the regulations it has been afforded.
“It is not only the doctor in question that is being asked to have an input, but also people with whom the doctor has worked. [They] are being asked as to give their view on what action should be taken or should not be taken”, Ramsammy said. He commended the Council for an investigation which he described as meticulous. He said too that the Council is establishing a model on how to deal with such matters.
But Ramsammy pointed to the Ministry of Health’s code of ethics for medical practitioners, which was established in November 2008, saying his decision in the case will hinge on it. He said the code of ethics provides parameters through which conduct can be interpreted. “I don’t have a recommendation to act on yet…how I will act will be done in accordance with the code of ethics”, Ramsammy asserted. Additionally, he said that the Ministry regulates with the code of ethics at “arms length”, noting that the Ministry would use the mechanism in place which is the Council.
Further, he noted that some people have questioned whether the Medical Council had the right to initiate an investigation into Chand’s conduct despite the fact that no complaint was filed. He stressed that it is within the powers of the Council to initiate an investigation if it believes that a medical practitioner might be acting in a manner that is not in the best interest of a patient.
Chand has denied wrongdoing in the case, but has faced intense criticism for treating the boy while his face was covered with a bag. Based on the doctor’s statement, Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack concluded that his conduct “leaves much to be desired” and she had advised the police force to forward his statement to the Medical Council of Guyana for appropriate action to be taken, in accordance with the law. Ali-Hack’s recommendation was released along with the report into the investigation of the torture of the teen and two adult males, who were held by police in connection with the murder of former Region Three vice-chairman Ramenauth Bisram.
