Two professionals in the field of medicine are the latest to bat for embattled medical practitioner Dr. Jose Humphreys by encouraging locals to reject the latest action taken against him by the Antigua and Barbuda Medical Council.
Dr. Humphreys has been fighting a legal battle for several years to have his medical license renewed by the council.
The ongoing matter took a turn for the worse last week when Dr. Humphreys reportedly received a letter from the medical council informing him that his license to practice had not been renewed and that he was, for that matter, removed from the list of recognized medical practitioners in the state.
One of his associates from St. Lucia, Dr. Gilbertha St Rose, stressed that the local accreditation body in Antigua has been allowed to get away with too much.
“By closing down his practice he should have brought a huge lawsuit, he should have received lots of [compensation] but this is sitting in court and God knows when it will come through. On top of that they have done worse than before,” Dr. St Rose said.
In terms of recourse, she suggested that “the same council, like tomorrow morning, should re-instate Dr. Humphreys and if the people of Antigua and Barbuda are looking for natural justice, they should insist that Dr Humphreys be re-instated right away”.
The St. Lucian dermatologist stated further that if in fact the medical practitioner is in violation, the Council, after checking its records, could stipulate what they would like and issue a timeframe instead of insisting that he can no longer practice medicine.
Dr. Humphreys was denied a renewal of his medical license to practice when it expired in 2013.
During that period, the Medical Council reportedly asked him to submit his qualifications, information on his training and rotation before the license could be renewed.
The Council is also not convinced that his academic and professional qualifications meet the required standards of accreditation for him to be licensed as a medical practitioner within the State of Antigua and Barbuda.
This recent letter from the Medical Council is the newest development in the ongoing matter.
Dr. St Rose pointed out that from her knowledge of the ongoing situation, most registered medical practitioners in Antigua and Barbuda have not done or are not equipped with the requirements outlined by the Council for them to remain registered and re-licensed.
She is of the belief that this is a direct attack on Dr. Humphreys and his denial of a license has nothing to do with his qualification.
“It cannot be anything to do with qualifications,” Dr. St Rose said.
Another associate, Dr Jerry Simon, said he feels for the patients who were under Dr. Humphreys’ care. He said some of those patients are now knocking on his doors.
“It is sad and, according to the Medical Council Act, it will take another two years when a license and registration have been revoked for someone to re-apply. So, I don’t know what is going to happen within that period. Something has to be done in a hurry,” Dr Simon said.
