CONRAD PLAYING DOCTOR

And he is doing so without a medical licence, Sunday Newsday has learned from a Medical Board administrative official. This has led Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram to investigate if the Grenada-born, Trinidad raised doctor, is practising without approved credentials.

Sunday Newsday found out that Murray has been attending to patients at Rampersad’s Medical Centre and Private Hospital in Freeport, but was unable to determine when he joined the practice.

To practise medicine in Trinidad and Tobago, one must have a medical degree from a recognised university, register with and receive a licence from the Medical Board which must be renewed every year.

A Medical Board administrative official last Friday revealed that Murray was registered to practice in 1999, but last renewed his licence in 2004. The official said Murray applied to have his licence renewed two years ago, but because he had not done so in more than ten years and had practised outside of the country, in the United States, he was asked to provide valid licences and letters of good standing from the medical boards where he last worked. The official said Murray was unable to do so and was not granted a licence.

Contacted about Murray’s status, Parasram said the issuing if licences is the responsibility of the Council of the Medical Board.

Parasram said the newest council was approved by Cabinet last week and is expected to have its first sitting within the next two weeks. Parasram, who will also sit on the council as CMO, said, “We (Health Ministry) will liaise directly with the Medical Board to verify whether he does or doesn’t have his licence to practice. And if he does not, through our legal department and the Medical Board we will take the necessary action to deal with the issue in order to protect the health of the public at large.” Last Friday, Sunday Newsday phoned Rampersad’s Medical Centre and Private Hospital and was told that Murray was available for appointments at 3 pm and 5 pm.

On visiting the medical centre on Friday afternoon, Sunday Newsday asked a receptionist to speak with Murray. After we identified ourselves, when asked if we had an appointment, the receptionist left the waiting area and returned moments later with a message from Murray that he was “not interested” in speaking with the media.

Sunday Newsday asked to speak to the owner of the medical centre and was referred to Dr Jason Rampersad whose office was in a building next door. While there, Rampersad told Sunday Newsday he was seeing a patient and would speak after his consultation was over. He did not return after 30 minutes.

Sunday Newsday later learned that Rampersad was not the owner, but the head doctor. Several attempts afterwards to reach Rampersad and the owner by phone were unsuccessful.

Murray shot into the international spotlight when he became the subject of the investigation into the 2009 death of Jackson.

Jackson hired Murray, a graduate of Texas Southern University and Meharry Medical College, in May that year to be his personal physician for his This Is It world tour at a reported salary of US$150,000 per month.

While under Murray’s care, Jackson died one month later from “acute propofol intoxication” with traces of several other drugs detected in his body.

Murray was arrested, charged, and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in November 2011.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor said the evidence in the case showed him guilty of a “continuous pattern of lies and deceit” and sentenced him to a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

He, however, served two years as he was released early due to the California state’s decision to reduce prison overcrowding. Before and after his release, Murray said he was saddened by Jackson’s death, but maintained he was not responsible for Jackson’s death.

Murray’s medical licences for California and Nevada were immediately suspended in the wake of his 2011 conviction and Texas revoked his licence in 2013. Up to yesterday, the publicly available licensee listings of the medical boards of both Nevada and California listed Murray’s licensee status as “suspended”.

Prior to his being hired by Jackson in 2009, Murray had a spotless medical record and many patients sang his praises throughout the trial of 2011. His reputation was also tarnished by financial woes involving defaulted mortgage payments, unpaid rent for his office spaces in Texas and Nevada and child support. In 2016, he published his book, This Is It! The Secret Lives of Dr Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson, detailing his experience as Jackson’s personal doctor ahead of the This Is It tour.

US entertainment news outlet Inside Edition last year reported Murray “keeps a low profile and lives in a one-bedroom apartment in a luxury condo building near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He spends his days walking his dog, Sebastian.” Murray resurfaced in Trinidad two years ago, when he played mas in Island People and has been here for every Carnival since.

He had told local media he wanted to set up a health care facility in Trinidad.