Doctor threatens to sue Medical Council
The CEO of St Philip's Hospital, Frank Portelli said the Medical Council acted "outside the powers granted to it by law" when it fined him €10,000 and threatened to remove him from the medical register.
In a strongly worded statement, he said the council had no legal authority to decide on the actions of a CEO of a private hospital and asked it to "immediately withdraw" the decision or "face legal consequences".
Dr Portelli said he would be holding "each individual member of the Medical Council legally liable for damages" to his reputation.
The issue is about allegations of overcharging made by Dr Portelli in 2003 against Louis Buhagiar, who occasionally worked at St Philip's Hospital.
Dr Portelli, in his capacity as CEO of the private hospital, had informed Dr Buhagiar by means of a letter that he had been suspended from St Philip's, The letter had been copied to all hospital staff and the Medical Association of Malta.
Dr Portelli had also written to Josie Muscat, a director at Saint James Capua Hospital, asking him to also suspend Dr Buhagiar.
Last week, the council found that the letter was defamatory in Dr Buhagiar's regard and ordered Dr Portelli to pay a fine of €10,000, threatening to strike Dr Portelli off the medical register if he failed to pay.
Dr Portelli insisted he had written the letter in his capacity as CEO of St Philip's Hospital. He also defended the contents of the letter in which he had informed Dr Buhagiar of his suspension because of "repeated complaints received about the professional fees Dr Buhagiar was charging patients".
Dr Portelli said the council should ensure sick patients came before doctors' interests.
In a curt statement, the council yesterday saw fit to point out that it had never ascribed the title of "professor" when referring to Dr Buhagiar. The council was reacting to a number of queries it received from doctors about the matter.
"The Medical Council would like to clarify that it never attributed or allocated the appellation of professor to Dr Buhagiar," it said.
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7 Comments
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Joe Portelli
Jul 9th 2009, 15:50
@Dea Catania
What right has Dr P to share informationa pertaining to business reputation?
As CEO he has every right to do what he likes to protect his business and the industry from rogue operators.
What right has Dr P to share information pertaining to an overcharging Doctor in his employement?
As a Doctor, it is his Duty to protect ill patients from being taken advantage of, at a critical time when they most need and rely on their doctor. I say again, its no longer Dr P's right but becomes a DUTY to inform on an abusing of patients trust, once he became aware of the doctor who was overcharging sick patients.
I have no short memory, people like Larferla who had expressed intentions in open letter against Dr P regarding Laferla lack of competence and mismanagement as recent as two months back , is evenidently try to land a fish using different bait. I am afraid his fishing boat is smaller than the fish surrounding it.
When the letter are used as evidence, we can tie-in Malice with the charge of defamation. What an embarising authority these people. Primitive is too good a description.
Joe Portelli
joe.portelli@yahoo.com
Albert Calleja
Jul 8th 2009, 16:58
Did the Malta Medical Council take six years to reach this decision?
Who are the doctors on the medical council and where did they get the authority to impose a fine on a fellow doctor and to further threaten to strike off a doctor from the medical register?
This does not make sense. Are we back to Dom Mintoff time?
They do not seem to have held any inquiry about the whole matter.
An inquiry should be held by authorised, independent bodies, not by fellow doctors.
The only honourable thing to do now, besides withdrawing their decision, is to resign en bloc.
M Spiteri
Jul 7th 2009, 17:39
I think' malpractice' in the sense of Mr Cuschieri's letter is telling an alleged untruth and having been found guilty by his peers the Medical Council,(of which Dr.Portelli is presumably a member). Malpractice in the sense of medical treatment wasn't mentioned nor intended. Were that so, then certainly no amount of money,in lieu of forgiveness would be acceptable.
I'm sure that you understood,as I did,the gist of that comment by N Cuschieri. Why then try to twist it to mean something else?.
As to Dr Portelli's generous nature,I couldn't possibly comment,but am pleased none the less, that at times he is charitable. 'First and foremost ' is the expression that I think you were struggling to remember.
Joseph Portelli
Jul 7th 2009, 14:44
@ N Cushieri
If as you suggest that is what happens in England, then in England they would refer to it as Blackmail i.e. either cough up 10000 euro or we strike you off. Fact is , if a doctor does not deserve to be on the register for malpractice then no amount of money should reverse the decision. In this case, Dr P has done nothing wrong and it seems some people just want some money - because I tell you what, there is NO WAY they can get away with it and they will eat their words for bringing themselves at risk of bad reputation.
For the Record = Dr P is well known to treat people that are less well off, because he is a real doctor and puts patients first and above everything else.
N Cushieri
Jul 7th 2009, 10:16
Re third para from last.
In which case ,I presume, Dr.P will be treating the less well off for free at all times. That would really be putting your money where your mouth is.
I am under the impression that everyone has a right to defend himself from alleged malpractice and anyone found to be guilty of that offence by his peers, can expect to be removed. That is what happen's in England and I dare say elsewhere. Why should it be different here?
John Cachia (Qrendi)
Jul 7th 2009, 09:46
A close look at the composition of the Board of The Medical Council of Malta shows that there are as many as nine members coming from the Medical Profession and only two board members representing the Public who are appointed by the Prime Minister.
In those instances where the interests of the Medical Profession and those of the Public are in disagreement, it is obvious that the interests of the Medical Profession will prevail at the expense of the Public.
The Public is at a great disadvantage here and this injustice can only be addressed by reducing the number of Board Members who are elected by the Medical Practioners and increasing the Board Members representing the Public who are appointed by the Prime Minister.
Deo Catania
Jul 7th 2009, 09:35
What right does F.Portelli has to instruct other hospitals to suspend Dr.Buhagiar? and he wants to defend his reputation...