There was no indication yesterday as to whether child sex felon Dr Vishwamintra Persaud had responded to the Guyana Medical Council, but the stipulated seven days which he was granted has expired.
Chairman of the council Dr Sheik Amir said yesterday that he was not informed of a response from Dr Persaud. However, he pointed out that the secretary of the council could have likely received correspondence unknown to him.
Dr Amir said the council would have to meet soon to discuss the next step, but this depends on whether Persaud has responded. The council wrote to the doctor last Monday asking him to explain what it considered “new information” with respect to his application for a licence.
Amir said last week that past members of the body were unaware Persaud was convicted of a crime when they granted him a licence to practice here. The new council has since launched an investigation into the doctor’s past. “I was on the previous council, so I am telling you this is new information and, like all things the council does, we give due process to information we receive,” Amir had said.
He said the council would be guided by its attorney and that contact would be made with the New York health authority which revoked Dr Persaud’s licence, following his conviction in 2008, as part of a verification process.
Persaud was granted an institutional licence, which limits him to one hospital and stipulates that he work under supervision, after he failed to submit a certificate of good standing to the council.
Persaud is currently employed at the Georgetown Public Hospital and according to Medical Director Dr Madan Rambarran, when he applied for employment it was known that his licence was revoked and the circumstances surrounding the revocation were also known.
