Dear Editor,

Stabroek News 14/12/01 has done it yet again. In the editor's note to a letter written by the President of the Medical Association its reason for non writing on an alleged assault on a medical practitioner by a high ranking government functionary was that no statement was made to Stabroek News. I am encouraged that SN functionaries merely sit in their offices awaiting statements from governmental functionaries.

Be that as it may, I wish to inform the public that neither the Medical Council nor the Medical Association has been consulted on what purports to be an investigative team of the New Amsterdam Hospital incident.

Before it begins it is tarnished for the following reasons:
1. The Chairman is presently before the Medical Council on three disciplinary charges. He is also before the civil courts.
2. Another individual had his name recently removed from the Register of Medical Practitioners for non compliance.
3. A third practitioner repeatedly violates the Medical Practitioners Act by giving recipients of health care the impression that he is a Specialist in Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
4. A fourth practitioner did a report on Johanna Sills, a child who died at the Georgetown Hospital after sustaining a fracture of the arm.
His report, not made public, could not be used to institute any disciplinary proceedings.
5. The final member is known for his skills as a surgical craftsman but his skills as an investigator have never been emphasised. We are disappointed that he seeks to dignify such a team with his presence.
In my private capacity I gave in SN 11/12/01 a list of possible candidates. The list was ignored.
A proper investigation should include in its terms of references:
1. The alleged assault on a medical practitioner.
2. Recommendations for improved health care at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
At the end of the investigation which should take no more than one day, each member should individually have the ability to immediately write a separate report which is not offensive to the brain's language centre and which report should make good reading in Medicine and Literature.
The Medical Council will reject a report which falls short of these modest expectations.

Incidentally, the only fora which are empowered to take disciplinary action against medical practitioners are the Non Constituted Public Service Commission and the extant Medical Council.