The person earmarked to become Director of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention was not a qualified medical doctor and could not, therefore, take on the job without facing criminal proceedings, the Medical Association of Malta has warned.
In a judicial protest filed yesterday, the doctors’ union argued that the proposed new director, who was not mentioned by name, did not have the necessary skills or qualifications to fill the post, which, among other things, included the minimising of deaths from infectious diseases and planning for major epidemics and other outbreaks.
“The association is informed that the candidate that will occupy this post does not have a medical doctor’s warrant or the skills and training afforded to a doctor. The candidate is not even registered, as prescribed at law, as a specialist. The moment this person starts acting in the role, they will have committed a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.”
The association is informed the candidate is not even registered as a specialist
According to the Health Care Professions Act, “no one can practise a healthcare profession unless they fulfil the conditions for the taking up of that task”.
The judicial protest added that the candidate could also be subjected to disciplinary measures by the Medical Council if the director position was accepted. Current director Charmaine Gauci was appointed to the post in 2007.
MAM general secretary Martin Balzan told Times of Malta the call for applications for the post had been “drastically different” from the one issued about three years ago.
“The last time such a call was made, those interested had to be medical doctors who have specialised and practised extensively in either the public health or infectious disease fields,” Dr Balzan said. “We are informed the person selected is not a medical doctor,” he said, adding that if the call was not reissued under the correct conditions, the MAM would take the matter to the European Commission.
The judicial protest, filed against Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar and against the Permanent Secretary at the Health Ministry, Joseph Rapa, says “it is essential that the chosen candidate has the necessary training and experience”.
The position includes monitoring disease trends and developing plans to manage and prevent the spreading of communicable disease. The successful candidate would also be expected to draft policies on communicable diseases and do field research. The protest also noted that the chosen applicant would ultimately be responsible for mapping out what happened if a full-blown epidemic or biological threat hit the island.
“As you can see, this is a very a serious position and the person who fulfils this role must have considerable clinical experience. There is a lot of responsibility invested in this position and it should be treated as such,” Dr Balzan said.
He added that MAM was already informed that the position had been filled even if no official announcement had been made.
The role was not simply an administrative one, because the selected person would have to be on site in case of an epidemic, check patients and evaluate the situation. The person would also have to be qualified enough to understand and apply research and test results regularly provided by specialists, Dr Balzan said.
The MAM’s protest said that the call was not in line with the doctors’ collective agreement and violated standards for calls that had been agreed upon with the authorities.