Medical Board Act needs to have changes

Legally, in my opinion, if the original registration is still in effect, there is no hindrance to medical practice. If the original registration was suspended based on factors occurring outside of TT , then there is a problem.

Today, all medical practitioners with full registration are given an annual certificate. This thus identifies those medical practitioners who are allowed to have an independent practice. However, the lack of this certificate does not prevent any medical practitioner with full registration from having an independent practice.

Medical practitioners who do not have full registration are not allowed an independent practice.

Such medical practitioners can be deregistered.

The Medical Board Act needs to change to state the following: *All medical practitioners must pay the annual retention fee to practise the art of medicine in TT .

*All medical practitioners must display the annual certificate in their independent offices.

*The specialist register, enacted since 2007, needs to be finalised so that people with specialist qualifications can call themselves “specialist” and it is thus illegal for people without specialist qualifications to continue calling themselves “specialist.” *Annual registration of medical practitioners will depend on evidence of continued medical education.

PHILIP AYOUNG-CHEE via email