COMMENTARY: Medical Hurdles – Legal Troubles

 By RAWLSTON POMPEY

It has been said that history and posterity often judged the evil and dirty works of men. This has often been remembered only when the names of evil men and women surfaced. The same might be said of some organizations-governmental and non-governmental that have reportedly caused some of their membership ‘…to bob and weave; …some forced to leave; or have been left to grieve. Even so, none may deny that these are all part of human existence and experience. A statutory agency that has attracted the public, and even governmental attention in a place aptly described as ‘…Where land and sea make beauty,’ has been the ‘…Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council (ABMC).’ This is the organization that has in some respects, left two members of the medical fraternity to grieve and a third left to feel peeved. Rightly or wrongly, ‘…provisionally-registered medical practitioner Dr. Jose Humphrey,’ deregistered from the list of licensed medical practitioners, might now so harbor feelings, as he has been left to grieve.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY

While members of Cabinet may have been misguided, the Medical Council remains the sole governing body with ‘…Regulatory Authority.’ Councilors and most, if not all other medical practitioners, would have been considered grossly reckless not to be familiar with governing regulations and the attendant functional powers. The Council is vested statutory powers, inter alia, (a) …To cause the registration; and (b) …licensing and/or deregistration’ of those considered duly qualified and eligible, and to exercise discipline control for breaches of professional ethics or conduct considered inappropriate.’ Conduct resembling or bordering acts of criminality are addressed by the Criminal Code. For instance, performing procedures not specified or inconsistent with the related licence could result in visitation upon their medical practices by law enforcement officers.

MEMBERSHIP

What of its membership? This is composed of some six professionals, some legal and non-legal. They are considered of high intellect and high repute. They include, (i) …Dr. Leslie Walwyn-Chairman; (ii) …Dr. Jason Belizaire-Deputy Chairman; (iii) …Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas- Chief Medical officer; (iv) …Dr. Sharon Cordner-Treasurer; (v) …Cicely Dorsett- Secretary/Registrar; and (vi) …Attorney-at-law Lisa John-Weste.’ In glowing terms, much has been written about him, equally as much as what has been passionately and disappointingly expressed about his ill-fated medical practice. Though cognizance of the requirements of the law, little that medical practitioner Dr. Jose Humphrey, a foreign-trained medical practitioner knew that he too would have encountered as much difficulties as had been the experience of a doctoral medical pioneer, Dr. William Hezekiah King.  He shall have known that likened to all other disciplines or non-discipline areas of gainful occupation, ‘…Qualifications,’ are mandatory and among the critical factors necessary to enable registration as a medical practitioner and the granting of a licence.

MAN’S MISERIES AND TROUBLES

The Scriptures have been fulfilled. Manifestations of such fulfillment are seen daily as ‘…Man’s Miseries and Troubles’ continue, exponentially to multiply. Man has been scripturally warned that ‘…Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble; ‘…He cometh forth like a flower,’ but instead of being allowed to be withered by the blazing sun, he is ‘…Cut down’ [KJV: Job 1 & 2]. Applied to Dr. Jose Humphrey, a young aspiring medical practitioner, his medical practice has been effectively ‘…Cut off;’ not by God, but by man.’ Suddenly, he has not only seen deprivation, but also frustration and horror, imposing upon him degradation and misery, sinking him to the dark depths of despair. Such finally came when the ‘…Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC),’ urged by Chief Justice Dame Janice Pereira to be considered the ‘…Bastion of Hope,’ delivered a ruling, adverse to his expectations, aspirations and hope.

FRUSTRATION AND MISERY

Though not related to a sea-faring journey, and unlike the adventurously embarkation by ‘…5 courageous Antiguan and Barbudan female rowers, they harbored no fear that their row-boats may run out of oil. All they had to worry about were turbulent weather. Since it was not the month of June, their journey across the Atlantic Ocean, torrid as it may have been their eyes had seen the Glory. Contrastingly, for a young national and a clearly ambitious medical practitioner, Dr. Jose Humphrey, embarking upon a ‘…Medical Journey,’ most of what he may have seen was sheer ‘…Frustration and Misery.’

PERSPECTIVE

This commentary speaks to the ‘…Medical Hurdles and Legal Troubles’ of Dr. Jose Humphrey in his bid to be registered as a medical practitioner and to obtain a licence to practice medicine in his nation. It specifically looks at the situation through the provisions of; (i) …The Medical Practitioners Act’ [No.3 of 2009]; and (ii) …Reasons for the establishment of the Medical Council and its function.’ It also looks at (a) …Contents of a Letter dispatched to, and acknowledged by him requesting documentary proof of his qualifications; and (b) …His apparent ill-advised and ill-fated litigious action.’ It further looks at an almost similar situation which had confronted a national who had undergone medical studies in Germany, distinguished himself in three specific areas, and returned to a medical practice within the nation.

MERCY FOR DR. HUMPHREY

As another individual of high national standing and repute facing grave difficulties, he saw a legislative way out of the fiasco. Given these developments, one may find difficult not to believe that people with fortuitous endowment of intellect and well-positioned may not have read or heard that ‘…The quality of mercy is not strained; …It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven; and fell upon the place beneath; …That it is twice blest; and that him that gives and him that takes is blessed’ [MoV: Shakespeare: 1564- 1616]. It begs the question, ‘…Will there be mercy for Dr. Jose Humphrey?

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Nationally well-known, well-loved, well-respected and well-recognized for his medical expertise, in a few short years he has climbed the medical chart of popularity in a discipline, consulting clients have confirmed, speaks to his ‘…professional skills and mastery.’ Considering from whence he came, he has not lost the common touch, and none had accused him of malpractice or had charged medical fees beyond the capacity of his clients. Guided by the lyrical content of the National Anthem, ‘…Each endeavoring, all achieving,’ the ambitious young man, endeavoring to rise above the disadvantages associated with ‘…Humble Beginnings,’ has persevered in his desire to be registered and licensed to become a full-fledge member of the medical fraternity.

MEDICAL SHIP

Unfortunately, the oil in the engine of Dr. Jose Humphrey’s ‘…Medical Ship’ ran dangerously low and helplessly it began sinking.’ Then he too, began to sink into dark despair. Stricken by anxiety and fear, he frantically and seemingly, ill-advisedly called upon his legal captain to guide him through the turbulent storm. The ship still ran aground and submerged. When social media reported on the unfolding miseries that his medical status had changed, speculations ran wild. Suggestions that forces adverse to a successful professional practice and rising popularity within the medical fraternity had been at work to destroy a promising, satisfying and rewarding medical career, this had been featured discussions.

MEDICAL QUALIFICATIONS

None may deny that after two medical professionals had been accused of practising medicine without a valid licence, those considered as quacks or may not have satisfied the registration and licensing criteria, many would have taken cognizance of that which often dangles over the heads of the lawless. Guided by research, the ‘…Medical Practitioner’s Act’ [No. 3 of 2009] specifies legal requirements that prospective medical professionals desirous of practising medicine, shall first qualify themselves to the satisfaction of the governing authority that may consider their eligibility and suitability based upon qualifications and a timeline for practical internship. Consequently, applicants are formally required to submit authenticated documentation from recognized and accepted medical training institutions, including character references, that favourable consideration might be given to those passing the litmus test for registration and licence.

PRACTISING PROSPECTIVE

The situation confronting Dr. Jose Humphrey has not only been seen as troubling, but also placed him in an awkward and unenviable position of getting ‘…naught for comfort and naught for discomfort’ [Harold Lovell]. Viewed from a practising perspective, should current practitioners not rising to the standards expected by the Medical Council, then he may rightly assert that he has been the victim of a privileged few, so positioned to dictate ‘…Failure, Misery and Despair.’ Conversely, the Medical Council, legally guided may also assert and rely upon the same ‘…National Anthem’ that urges all citizens, including medical practitioners to ‘…Raise the standard;’ and to ‘…Raise it boldly’ in support of its mantra in ensuring inter alia, that ‘…qualifications are authentic; …that skills and capacity matches respectability and integrity.

COMPETITIVE THREATS

Ever since his medical worries had begun, speculations were rife that practitioners with vested interest were at work in removing every perceived competitive threat that may have impacted on the ‘…Practice and Prosperity’ of some practitioners within the fraternity. Though this may not necessarily have been the primary reason, in removing his name from the ‘…Registry of Licensed Practitioners,’ the Medical Council has effectively precluded him from functioning as a medical practitioner in a land ‘…Where Sea and Sand Make Beauty.’ There is nothing fundamentally wrong with such description. But many people have speculated that there may be deep-seated problems with identifiable members of the medical profession. The national Constitution Order has made it sufficiently clear that it is ‘…Supreme.’ It states, ‘…If any other law is inconsistent with the Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail and the other law, to the extent of any inconsistency, it shall be void.’

PRACTICE DEBACLE

There were those that harbored belief that it was the Medical Council’s apparent hard-lined approach that seemed to have exacerbated the situation, forcing the applicant to cause the Judiciary to be visited upon the Medical Council. This may have precipitated Medical Council’s decision in removing the embattled practitioner’s name from its register. Likened to a cricketer stranded in mid-pitch, Dr. Jose Humphrey had found himself stranded in the middle of a ‘…Practice Debacle.’ Considering that two medical practitioners who were accused of engaging in a medical practice without being so licensed by the ‘…Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council (ABMC),’ and saw criminal prosecutions instituted against them, not only has he been gravely restricted, but also runs the risk of having similar prosecutorial action initiated against him if he so engages himself in a medical practice.

BEDEVILED AND BEWILDERED

Though ‘…Bedevilled and Bewildered,’ yet ambitious and aspiring medical practitioner, the Medical Council may not be justifiably faulted for his ‘…medical miseries.’ This has been made unmistakably clear in two recently delivered judicial decisions. In spite of the rulings of the ‘…First Instance and Appellate Courts,’ favoring the Council, Dr. Jose Humphrey may still have been given reasons to watch the Council with‘…existentialist dread.’ Likened to his clientele, and in positions where conscientious people sit, for him as had been perceived in some quarters it had been made peculiarly difficult for them not to have comprehended the trend of thought of those empathizing with his apparent unceasing fight with the Medical Council.

CONTENTS OF LETTER

From the ‘…Contents of a Letter’ from the Medical Council, it was obvious that here was where his medical troubles, hurdles and miseries begun. In that letter, a collective decision of the body, and purportedly authored by its Chairman Dr. Leslie Walwyn, it speaks to deregistration and the recall of a previously granted ‘…Provisional Licence.’ Inferentially, these decisions would have been consistent with strategies to force compliant with submission of certain documentation necessary to guide the Council in making informed decisions as they affect his application for registration as a medical practitioner. From the content of the letter, that which may be reasonably inferred was that, (a) ‘…Questionable legal advice and premature institution of litigious proceedings against the Medical Council; and (b) …Non-submission of requisite documents.’

STRICT CONFIDENTIALITY

The public, deeply incensed state may have been attributed to the deafening silence of the Medical Council. Such silence may have been contingent upon and consistent with institutional policy and/or the professional principle of ‘…Strict Confidentiality.’ Such strictness was unlike that had plagued some governmental agencies. Few people had been seized of the facts respecting the deregistration troubles of Dr. Jose Humphrey. Those who may have been seized of the facts remained doggy and tight-lipped.’ Dr. Jose Humphrey and his legal team would not speak to the issue, while the Medical Council, seemingly guided by its legal team remained noticeably silent. Starved of official public information, the expressions of empathy and moral support had been overwhelming.

EMPATHETIC RESPONSE

Recognizing their professional independence and ‘…Statutory Insulation’ from executive meddling, treading cautiously with ‘…an Empathetic Response,’ the Gaston Browne administration, through a designated member of his Cabinet, showed an interest in having the matter resolved. It avoided any perceptions of interference. Likened to members of the public and wider society, members of Cabinet may have been as befuddled over the deafening silence.’ When Information Minister Melford Nicholas spoke on behalf of his Cabinet, they too harbored the view that some form of information may have been disseminated to an anxious and irate public [OMG: June 21, 2019]. The Council remained unfazed and unresponsive.’

ADVICE TO CABINET

Even with such silence, it was within the public domain that Dr. Jose Humphrey’s name had already been struck from the published list of licensed medical practitioners. In the absence of the issuance of a valid licence, he could no longer engage in attending or providing medical services to ailing patients. Should a response be made, attorney/member Lisa John-Weste may have likely penned ‘…The Council advises the Cabinet that it is not unmindful of public sentiments or Cabinet’s views, and neither will Council members neglect their legal and professional responsibilities to the public.  Suffice it to say, however, if it pleases members of this august body, such members would quicker see ‘…Dr. Jose Humphrey’ becoming an ambassador, than Melford Nicholas becoming a medical doctor.’

NON-COMPLIANCE

Research has shown that concerns over authenticity of documents ‘…Non-Compliance’ and apparent time constraint had forced the Medical Council to review his pending application. Ensuring that he was compliant, or face the provisional deregistration, the Medical Council wrote, ‘…The Council also requests for consideration of your application a copy of the ‘…Provisional Licence’ which was granted to you in order to complete your internship.’ Endeavoring to show great urgency, it further wrote ‘…We await your soonest provision of the documents above.’ Several things have been made obvious, or might reasonably inferred; (i) …The applicant’s application was under consideration; (ii) …He was issued a Provisional Licence allowing time to complete internship; (iii) …the Medical Council had been waiting upon the provision of the documents so referred and necessary to guide their deliberations.’

PENDING COURT DECISION (PCD)

As the Medical Council appeared to have been ‘…Strumming his pain’ in a letter, requiring him to furnish information that seemed rather difficult to obtain, the members of that body would have been ‘…Killing a chosen career, medical practice and growing clientele softly.’ This might be compares to amputating a man’s legs far up beyond the knees. There is now not to be the anticipated immediate continuation of his medical practice. Such had been firmly wedged between the ‘…Medical Council’ and a then ‘…Pending Court Decision (PCD,’ by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) for leave to access the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) that had been unfavorably determined to the expectations of the aggrieved, Dr. Jose Humphrey.

HUMPHREY CONTROVERSY

Though not publicly expressed, Dr. Jose Humphrey would have quietly expressed disappointment at the decision of governing body not considering the grant of another ‘…Provisional Licence.’ While he had shrugged off certain suggestions, it was the harbored suspicions of the general public and former patients that ‘…professional jealousy,’ was at the heart of the ‘…Humphrey Controversy.’ As no official response came from the rightly or wrongly public perceived ‘…elitist’ composition of the Council, many have asserted that these may have precipitated or had influenced the decision in deregistering him from its officially published list of ‘…Licensed Medical Practitioners.’

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE

When attorney-at-law Harold Lovell uttered a clarion call for a ‘…Legislative Initiative’ in bringing closure to the clearly frustrating situation and lengthy and costly judicial proceedings, he may have seen both legal and administrative difficulties in accessing the required documentation. Thus, he had looked closely at the experiences of a ‘…German-trained medical practitioner, ‘…Dr. William Hezekiah King.’ These might reasonably be viewed as among the deciding factors that had started ‘…registration troubles, legal hurdles and miseries’ for the promising medical practitioner.

MEDICAL EXPERTISE

Consequently, through formally acquired ‘…Medical Expertise,’ Dr. William H. King had engaged himself with studies in three separate medical disciplines. These included (i) ‘…Medicine; (ii) …Surgery; and (iii) Midwifery.’ He too had encountered monumental difficulties not only with the colonial authorities, but also a law called ‘…The Medical Act’ [Chapter 269: Laws of Antigua and Barbuda]. This law contained rules for ‘…safe medical practice and high standard of professional conduct by the practitioners. Even after attaining political independence [November 1, 1981] and a Law Revision conducted by then Governor General Sir Wilfred Jacob [1992], the law and rules were retained and consolidated.

WILLIAM KING ACT- 1958

Then there was the obvious circumventive legislative initiative that enabled him to practice medicine alongside his ‘…expatriate foreign-trained counterparts,’ after inferential concerns appeared to have been raised over his qualifications and eligibility to practice medicine. To understand the gravamen of the situations is to be aware of what obtained in the ‘…William King Act.’ The then governing authorities tailored and gave urgent parliamentary consideration to the law to accommodate his registration as a medical practitioner. The legislative approval was given to a national to engage in three disciplines he had been trained and duly considered by his practice in medicine in Germany. As contained in the Medical Act of 1938, the legislation made no reference to medical qualifications. The two-section law was Short Titled, ‘…William King Medical Qualifications.’ Section ‘2’ was specific.

UNAMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE

He had not only undergone medical studies in foreign country, but also practiced medicine in German. In unambiguous language, the amended law reads, ‘…Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Medical Act, or any law amending it shall be lawful for William H. King to practice, (i) …Medicine; (ii) …Surgery; and (iii) …Midwifery’ [Section 2: King Medical Qualification Act: Chapter 231]. Anticipating that some patients may not settle their medical Bills, the Act empowered the practitioner to ‘…Demand and recover in any Court of law, charges for professional aid, advice or visits or cost of any medicine, surgical equipment rendered or supplied by him to his patients, or for the performance of any operation’ [KMQA]. He had surmounted the legal hurdles of which he may have been frustratingly confronted.

PRACTICE DEBACLE

Then there were the negative expressions of the apparent attitudinal inflexibility of the ‘…Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council (ABMC)’ in its handling of what had been, rightly or wrongly described as the ‘…Dr. Jose Humphrey Medical Practice Debacle.’ The situation appeared to have been made worse by the governing body’s inescapable deafening silence on the facts in issue. People seemingly ignorant of the true facts and circumstances have been forced into speculations. Many saw the sentimental wrath of the practitioner’s faithful clients and supporting members of the public and the citizenry as a whole, though avoidable.

SOFTLY KILLED

While most medical practitioners are professionally capable of diagnosing and treating themselves, Dr. Jose Humphrey, afflicted with a non-medical problem, may have found it easier saying, ‘…Jesus Wept,’ than saying ‘…Medical Council.’ But this may have been a name that that some medical practitioners would rather avoid for curing any non-medical ailment. When renowned international artist Roberta Flack sang ‘…Strumming my pain with his fingers,’ whatever love she may have had for this man, whoever he was, she knew that she was being ‘…Killed softly with his words’ [1973: You Tube]. The lyrical contents of the song ‘…Killing Me Softly,’ hold true for various other reasons. Except for the reported tragic death of a female medical practitioner, few were known to have died unnaturally. When they had departed, so had been their medical practice. This has not been the case for embattled medical practitioner Dr. Jose Humphrey, but a career and a thriving medical practice are being ‘…Softly Killed.’ Long live Dr. Jose Humphrey.

NEEDLE OF DEATH

In ‘…strumming his pain,’ the Council wrote, ‘…The Medical Council is of the considered opinion that based on the documents on your file and those provided by you in support of your application, you have not met the requirement of the Medical Practitioners Act, 2009’ [Letter: September 25, 2014]. It further states, ‘…You have not proven that you possess the prescribe qualifications and postgraduate training, including an internship from an acceptable medical institution which is recognized for an internship programme’. Then seemingly injecting him with the ‘…Needle of Death,’ it wrote, ‘…The Council is unable to ascertain the credibility of the medical schools/institutions which you attend with no relevant information provided by you; …Furthermore, no transcripts of your Grades has been provided, nor history of your qualifications. Parliamentarians anticipated that situations may demand the granting of a ‘…Provisional Licence,’ and made provision for the same. Dr. Jose Humphrey, so positioned and was granted one, but conditional that he completed that which was incomplete.

OATH OF OFFICE

While it might seem that their reputation for inflexibility may have out-maneuvered their intellect, irrespective of sentiments, these are the distinguished members of the ‘…Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council (ABMC). In his professional capacity as a medical practitioner, it is clearly not the name that Dr. Jose Humphrey may be afraid of, but the decision of its collective membership to de-register his name from the list of medical practitioners. If it were to be said they have caused Dr. Jose Humphrey to sing, ‘…I Have Got Dreams to Remember’ [Otis Redding: You Tube], then someday, he may also cause them their grand-children to sing, ‘…I am Sorry, so sorry; …That I was such a fool; …Please accept my apology’ [1960: Brenda Lee]. The question that many concerned citizens has been asking is, ‘…Who has responsibility for creating opportunities whereby patriotic and ambitious citizens may play meaningful roles in the national life? Here again, the answer might reasonably be deduced from the ‘…Oath of Office’ and the mandate given to those subscribing to it.

WEALTH CREATION

There may be no grave attempt in causing ‘…Medical Practitioners’ to feel sidelined or acrimoniously discriminated against. And while a high standard of qualifications shall be urged, it might be exception rather than the rule that those that have demonstrated a high degree of professional competence, but seen or seemed to have theoretically faltered, there still might be reconciliatory gestures, particularly as it pertains to ‘…Social Justice.’ The framers anticipated that nationals like Dr. Jose Humphrey might encounter hurdles placed in his path to frustrate him as to cause adverse effect on a legitimate practice and means of livelihood. Contingent upon the electoral mandate, and upon the pre-election promises to create opportunities capable of empowering and enabling ‘…Wealth Creation,’ [Prime Minister Gaston Browne] it is socially and politically-binding upon the elected to see their materialization.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

This is particularly important to those harboring the belief that someday, manna may fall from Heaven. Realistically, however, those harboring such belief not only see such possibilities, but have also accepted the constitutional principle of ‘…Social Justice.’ This principle entrenched in the Constitution induces reasonable expectations. It is premised the principle that states, ‘…There shall be adequate means of livelihood for all citizens.’ These, looked at from the perspective of the sacred ‘…Oath of office,’ portfolioed Ministers, including, but not limited to ‘…Prime Minister Gaston Browne; …Attorney General Steadroy ‘Cutie’ Benjamin and Health Minister Molwyn Joseph’ shall demonstrate in earnest not only to ‘…Honour, uphold and preserve the Constitution and the law,’ but also to ‘…conscientiously and impartially to the best of their ability discharge their duties, by doing right to all manner of people’ [Oath of Office: June 12, 2014 & March 21, 2018-].

CONCLUSION

Likened to former national heroes, ‘…Sir Vere Cornwall Bird and Sir George Herbert Walter,’ it was also for people like Dr. Jose Humphrey that framers of the Constitution had inserted the principle that states, ‘…The people assert their conviction that their happiness and prosperity can best be pursued in a democratic society in which all persons, to the extent of their capacity, play some part in the national life’ [Principle C]. None may deny that Dr. Jose Humphrey has not been playing a vital role in the national life through the delivery of quality health services. Even as the Council remains adamant and resolute, Dr Jose Humphrey, his legal team; …general membership medical fraternity and the citizens, through social media,’ will all be watching with keen interest and great expectations.’ And if the concept ‘…Quality of Mercy’ will be strained and made to be delivered with ‘…aggravation; frustration and pain,’ as history and posterity often does, their ‘…Evil Deeds and Dirty Work’ will be ‘…So remembered; …So seen; …So judged; and …So despised.’ Long live and long be remembered- Dr. Jose Humphrey.

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