Outside the jurisdiction of the Medical Council

There is something abnormal in the decision of the Medical Council to punish Frank Portelli, CEO of St Philip's Hospital, for writing a letter to a physician informing him that he was being suspended from functioning at the hospital because of repeated complaints received about the professional fees that that doctor was charging patients.

This was purely an administrative matter between a manager of a facility and one of its operators. There was nothing medical about this issue and the Medical Council should have had no role to play in this matter. If the CEO had happened to be an architect, rather than a medical doctor, would the Chamber of Architects have stepped in and imposed any kind of discipline on him in these circumstances? Or if he had happened to be an accountant, would the Malta Institute of Accountants have become involved in any way? Of course not. And, for that matter, had the CEO been anyone but a doctor, what would the Medical Council itself have done in that instance? It simply would have been impotent to take any active part.

Clearly this was simply a matter between manager and staff member and if any party felt aggrieved then the law courts should have been the venue for resolving any dispute. It doesn't appear to be legitimate for the Medical Council to step in and take such drastic action in a matter that seems to be totally outside its mandate, and its decision should be revoked without delay.