Child sex felon Dr Vishwamintra Persaud has been summoned to appear before the Medical Council of Guyana after failing to respond in writing to the body.
Chairman of the council Dr Sheik Amir confirmed yesterday that Dr Persaud had not responded within the seven-day period required and as a result the council has called on him to attend a meeting scheduled for next Monday.
The council wrote to the doctor last week Monday asking him to explain what it considered “new information” with respect to his application for a licence. But when the period expired on Monday last there was no correspondence from the doctor.
Dr Amir said last week that past members of the body were unaware Dr 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,” Dr Amir had said.
He said the council would be guided by its attorney and that contact would have been made with the New York health authority which revoked Dr Persaud’s licence, following his conviction in 2008, as part of a verification process.
Dr Persaud was granted an institutional licence, which limits him to one hospital and stipulates that he works under supervision, after he failed to submit a certificate of good standing to the council.
Dr 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and according to Medical Director Dr Madan Rambarran, when he applied for employment it was known that his licence had been revoked and the circumstances surrounding the revocation were also known.
Recently, Help and Shelter said it will strenuously and actively oppose any attempt to retain Dr Persaud as a medical doctor in Guyana.
