-Ramsammy seeking report
Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy is still to approve the decision of the Medical Council of Guyana sanctioning the doctor involved in the recent torture case as he has now written to the Council requesting their “report as it relates to their recommendation.
“Dr Ramsammy told Stabroek News yesterday that the Council submitted the recommendation without the report and he has requested it before he makes his decision. The minister had initially said he was going to inform the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is technically Dr Chand’s employer, the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), from which Dr Chand was seconded to the Guyana Police Force in 1998, and the doctor before making his decision public.
According to Section 17:3B of the Medical Practitioner Act of Guyana, if the Council finds a doctor guilty of malpractice it can suspend his registration for such a period “as may be determined by the Council and approved by the Minister.” It was noted that while the minister can extend or reduce the recommended time of suspension the Act does not authorise him to change the Council’s recommendation of suspension.
Stabroek News understands that the Council has recommended that Dr Chand be suspended for two months but the decision may not have been unanimous as Director of Medical Services of the GPHC Dr Madan Rambarran, who is a member of the Council, has publicly said he had recommended to the council that the doctor be removed as the police surgeon and returned to the GPHC for some remedial training.
Following the Council’s decision to investigate Dr Chand, he was afforded the opportunity to answer the complaint against him which stemmed from the controversial case involving the tortured teenager. After the Council had decided on a period of suspension the doctor was then asked to show cause why he should not be suspended, in keeping with the provisions of the Medical Practitioner Act.
In his initial response to the Council, which was done in an affidavit form with the assistance of an attorney, the doctor had among other things said that when he was called to treat the tortured teen- who suffered burns to his genital area while in police custody- he had initially requested that the bag be removed from the child’s head but this request was dismissed by one of the police officers present with the excuse of having something to do “with national security.”
Chand has faced immense criticism for treating the boy while his face was covered with a bag. Based on the doctor’s statement, Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack concluded that his conduct “leaves much to be desired” and she had advised the police force to forward his statement to the Medical Council of Guyana for appropriate action to be taken, in accordance with the law.
Ali-Hack’s recommendation was released along with the report into the investigation of the torture of the teen and two adult males, who were held by police in connection with the murder of former Region Three vice-chairman Ramenauth Bisram.
After being taken into custody, the teen was stripped and beaten before being burnt in his genital area at the Leonora Police Station. He was subsequently seen by Dr Chand, although the boy had a bag over his head. Ali-Hack noted that Dr Chand in his statement, dated November 4, said he was approached by a Superintendent Kissoon on October 29 at 5.30 pm at his home for him to see a patient at the police station “when it is a little dark” to avoid publicity. “The doctor acceded to this and further alleges that when he saw the patient at the police station his head was completely covered,” Ali-Hack noted. She added: “I cannot understand how a [doctor] can see a patient without speaking to the patient and if the patient’s head is completely covered then how did the [doctor] speak to him?”
An investigation by the police force’s Office of Professional Responsibility has found that the torture of the teen and the two men was known by several police ranks who were indifferent and complicit. Based on the report, the Home Affairs Ministry confirmed the teen’s torture, expressed “deep regret” and emphasised that every effort is being made to ensure that there is no repetition of such incidents in future. The ministry also offered personal “deep regrets” to the 15-year-old boy and his parents.
