Complaints

(1) The Medical Council shall– (a) if a person makes a complaint to the Medical Council alleging professional misconduct against a medical practitioner; or 24 Medical Practice Act (b) if it, without receiving a complaint, has reasonable suspicion that a practitioner may have committed professional cause an investigation to be made into that matter. (2) The Secretary shall, before causing an investigation to be made under sub-section (1), notify the medical practitioner against whom the allegations of misconduct are made in writing of– (a) the nature and substance of the allegations; (b) the person making the allegations, where applicable; and (c) any other information in the possession of the Medical Council relating to the allegations, and call on the medical practitioner to answer the allegations, whether personally, or in the company of an attorney, or to provide an explanation or representation he may wish to make before a specified date determined by the Medical Council. (3) The Medical Council shall consider the answer, representation or explanation referred to in sub-section (2) and may thereafter– (a) determine that no investigation of professional misconduct shall be made; or (b) conduct an investigation of professional misconduct into the matter. (4) A complaint referred to in sub-section (1) shall be made by affidavit. Medical Practice Act 25 (5) In any proceedings under this section, no member of the Medical Council shall sit in any meeting of the Medical Council in respect of any matter of which he is directly or indirectly interested. (6) For the purposes of this section, “professional misconduct” includes but is not limited to any of the following– (a) applying for or procuring the registration, licensing or permission to practise medicine in Belize by fraud or misrepresentation; (b) cheating on or attempting to subvert any examination prescribed by the Medical Council for licensing to practise medicine or a specialist area of medicine in Belize; (c) being convicted of an offence whether in Belize or elsewhere which in the opinion of the Medical Council is likely to bring the medical profession into disrepute; (d) engaging in conduct likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public; (e) making a false or misleading statement regarding his skill or the efficacy or value of any medicine, treatment or remedy prescribed by him or at his direction in the treatment of any disease or other condition of the body or mind; (f) representing to a patient that an incurable condition, sickness, disease or injury can be cured; (g) willfully or negligently violating the confidentiality relationship between medical 26 Medical Practice Act practitioner and patient, except as required by law; (h) being grossly negligent in the practise of medicine as determined by the Medical (i) abandoning a patient in danger without reasonable cause, or without giving the patient an opportunity to retain the services of another (j) knowingly giving a false certificate respecting birth, death, notice of disease, state of health, vaccination or disinfection or respecting any matter relating to life, health or accident insurance; (k) practising or engaging in other behavior that demonstrates an incapacity or incompetence to practice medicine; (l) failing to provide evidence based medical care; (m) using any false, fraudulent or deceptive statement in any document connected with the practice of medicine; (n) practising medicine under a false name or otherwise impersonating another medical (o) aiding, abetting or enabling by his presence, advice, assistance or cooperation, the practise of medicine by an unregistered person, or holding out a person who is unregistered under this Act as registered to practise medicine in Belize; Medical Practice Act 27 (p) allowing another person or organization to use his practising certificate to practise medicine in Belize; (q) committing any act which exploits the medical practitioner-patient relationship in a sexual way; (r) habitually or excessively using or abusing of illicit drugs, alcohol or other substances that impair ability; (s) directly or indirectly holding oneself out to the public as a specialist or as being specially qualified in any particular branch or area of medicine while not having taken a special course in such branch and received a specialist certificate therein which is recognized by the (t) except as otherwise permitted by law, prescribing, selling, administering, distributing, ordering or giving any drug legally classified as a controlled substance under the laws of Belize, or recognized as an addictive or dangerous drug for any purpose other than for medically accepted therapeutic purposes; (u) violating any law relating to illicit drugs and controlled substances; (v) obtaining any fee by fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; (w) directly or indirectly giving or receiving any fee, commission, rebate or other compensation for professional services not actually and personally rendered, save and except that this 28 Medical Practice Act prohibition shall not preclude the legal functioning of lawful professional medical partnerships, corporations or associations, or the provision of services thereby; (x) failing to report to the Medical Council, in the course of making application for registration or recertification, any adverse action taken against him as a medical practitioner in any country or jurisdiction, by any peer review body, health care institution, professional or medical society or association, governmental agency, law enforcement agency, or court, for acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct that would constitute grounds for professional misconduct as defined in this section; (y) being granted an adverse judgment, award or settlement resulting from a medical liability claim related to acts or conduct similar to acts or conduct that would constitute grounds for professional misconduct as defined in this section; (z) failing to transfer pertinent and necessary records to another practitioner in a timely manner when legally requested to do so by the subject patient or by a legally designated representative of the subject patient; (aa) improper managing of medical records; (bb) failing to furnish the Medical Council, its investigators or representatives, with information legally requested by the Medical Medical Practice Act 29 (cc) failing to cooperate with a lawful investigation conducted by the Medical Council; (dd) violating of any provision of this Act or the Rules, Regulations or By-Laws of the Medical Council or breaching of any order made by, or an agreement with, the Medical Council; (ee) doing or failing to do any act or thing, the doing or the failure of which the Medical Council considers to be unprofessional or discreditable; or (ff) engaging in conduct which, in pursuance of Rules made by the Medical Council under section 22, is to be treated as misconduct in a professional respect. (7) If the Medical Council, acting pursuant to sub-section (3) (b), is satisfied that the allegations contained in an affidavit referred to in sub-section (4) disclose a prima facie case of professional misconduct, the Medical Council shall hear the complaint and the person against whom the complaint is made, and their witnesses, if any, and shall deal with the matter in accordance with sub-section (8) or (9). (8) If the Medical Council, after hearing an application of professional misconduct, is not satisfied that the allegations made against the medical practitioner to whom the application relates have been established or that the conduct alleged against him constitutes professional misconduct, the application shall be dismissed. (9) If the Medical Council, after hearing an application of professional misconduct, is satisfied on a preponderance of the evidence that the allegations made against the medical practitioner to whom the application relates have been established or that conduct alleged against him constitutes professional misconduct, the Medical Council may as it thinks 30 Medical Practice Act just, make any one or more of the following orders against the (a) an order directing the Registrar to remove the medical practitioner’s name from the Register, or an order revoking the medical practitioner’s practising certificate or other authorization to practise medicine in Belize; (b) an order suspending, limiting or restricting the medical practitioner’s practising certificate in such manner as the Medical Council may determine, including limiting the practise of the medical practitioner to or by the exclusion of one or more specified activities of medicine, or by stipulating periodic Medical Council reviews; (c) an order placing the medical practitioner on probation with conditions; (d) an order imposing on the medical practitioner such administrative fine as the Medical Council may think proper; (e) an order requiring the medical practitioner to submit to care, counseling, or treatment as designated by the Medical Council as a condition precedent to the resumption of the practise of medicine; (f) an order requiring the medical practitioner to participate in a program of education, training, treatment or counseling prescribed by the (g) an order requiring the medical practitioner to practise under the direction of a medical Medical Practice Act 31 practitioner designated by the Medical Council for a specified period of time; (h) an order requiring the medical practitioner to perform public service considered appropriate by the Medical Council; (i) an order requiring the payment by any party of costs, or of such sum as the Medical Council may consider a reasonable contribution towards costs; or (j) an order requiring the payment by the medical practitioner of any such sum by way of restitution as the Medical Council may consider reasonable, and if the Medical Council determines that through the practise of medicine, the medical practitioner poses a continuing threat to the public welfare, it shall revoke, suspend, or deny the medical practitioner a practising certificate. (10) A fine or any part thereof imposed under sub-section (9) may at the discretion of the Medical Council be paid to the person making the application in whole or in part satisfaction of any damage caused to him by the unprofessional conduct giving rise to the application; (11) Where the name of any person is removed from the Register, the Medical Council may in writing require such person to return to the Medical Council his current practising certificate and such person shall comply with the requirement, and failure to do so constitutes an offence under this Act. (12) For the purposes of any application made to it under this Act, the Medical Council shall have the powers of the Supreme Court to summon witnesses, call for the production of books and documents and examine witnesses and parties concerned, on oath. 32 Medical Practice Act (13) In any matter or hearing before any court, where the judge or magistrate considers that an act of professional misconduct referred to in sub-section (6) has been committed by a medical practitioner, the judge or magistrate may make or cause to be made an order referring the matter to the Medical Council under that sub-section in respect of the medical (14) In sub-section (13), “court” means the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, a summary jurisdiction court, a district court, or any other court which is or may be established by or under any law.