Seven doctors facing criminal charges on a two-year-old’s fatal meningitis misdiagnosis were not referred to the Medical Council, The Times can confirm.

Prima facie there did not appear to be medical negligence

Although the death of two-year-old Aimee Abela in February 2011 prompted a magisterial inquiry, Health Department officials have confirmed they never asked the council to investigate.

Chief Government Medical Officer Natasha Azzopardi Muscat said the decision was taken because “prima facie there did not appear to be medical negligence”.

Dr Azzopardi Muscat did not head the Government’s medical department at the time.

And despite the magisterial inquiry establishing there were sufficient grounds to charge the doctors in connection with Aimee’s death (see front page), officials felt no disciplinary action was necessary.

Instead, the doctors were subjected to an internal “peer review”, which Aimee’s parents were never made aware of, and returned to work at Mater Dei Hospital.

The Times has seen a copy of a court application filed by the Government in which it notes that an internal investigation into the girl’s death “has now been concluded”.

It remains unclear whether this is the investigation Dr Azzopardi Muscat refers to.

Six of the doctors involved were assigned work “under supervision of a consultant”, Dr Azzopardi Muscat said, and the senior medic was allowed to continue working due to the “service track record”.

“Our recommendation to the Public Service Commission was they should not be suspended because of the impact on the medical service,” she added.

Aimee died three days after doctors failed to diagnose her meningitis. Her parents were told hospital authorities would investigate the death. They filed a judicial protest on Monday complaining about having heard nothing since.

The Times asked a Medical Council spokeswoman if it investigated the doctors of its own volition, which its regulations empower it to do.

The council’s reply – a spokeswoman said all inquiries were held in public – indicates no investigative action was taken.

Follow-up questions seeking clarification were acknowledged by e-mail but no reply was forthcoming at the time of writing.

What is the Medical Council?

The Medical Council is the regulatory body responsible for doctors and dentists and is tasked with looking out for patient rights by “ensuring proper standards in medical practice”. It also keeps registers of certified doctors, surgeons and dentists licensed to practise in Malta.

The Prime Minister appoints the council chairman – currently doctor Ilona Debono – one doctor, one dentist and one lay person to the council. Another member is nominated by the University and doctors elect five members and dentists two.

The 2003 Health Care Professionals Act empowers the council to investigate any allegations of medical malpractice. If found culpable, practitioners can be cautioned, suspended, fined or made to undergo additional training by the council.

In extreme cases, the council can recommend that a doctor or dentist be struck off the Medical Register.