Imbert hits back at Dr Medford

Health Minister Colm Imbert refuted statements made by President of the Medical Association of TT Dr Steve Medford in yesterday’s Newsday that the Medical Council was investigating doctors for negligence “in private.” Responding to this claim by Medford in a release yesterday, Imbert said the Council “has adopted the position that it has no legal responsibility or power to investigate doctors for medical negligence or malpractice, and when faced with a complaint to take the matter to Court.” He added that this was confirmed by the Council at a meeting at the Health Ministry, on July 8. Stating that Medford had never attended any meetings between the Ministry and the Council regarding the registration of foreign doctors, Imbert said “He is not a member of the Council and he is in no position to interpret or report on what has transpired in these meetings.” Medford had earlier stated that persons who had grievances with doctors were free to take their complaints to the Medical Board, but that the findings of these investigations were not published as “it is private affair.” Pointing out that the Medical Association “is a merely a professional body whose focus is the continuing education of doctors,” Imbert stressed that “there is no relationship between the Medical Association and the Medical Council.”

Further stating that Medford had not been present in the Senate when the Bill to amend the Medical Board Act was passed on Wednesday night, and that the Hansard records were not yet confirmed, Imbert said “He (Medford) has no proper knowledge of what was said during the debate therefore, other than heresay.” “His public utterances are, therefore, improper, and as a senior public servant who works for the Ministry of Health, he should know better than to use third-hand information to launch an unjustified and unwarranted attack on the Minister of Health,” Imbert chastised. “It is also improper of him to give the impression that he has detailed knowledge of the deliberations between the Ministry and the Medial Council,” he added. In concluding, Imbert noted and sought to point out that “a common political thread runs through all of the misleading statements and misinformation that has appeared about the health sector over the last year.”