Dr Roger Hunter’s suspension overturned

The Medical Appeals Tribunal has set aside the suspension of neurosurgeon Dr Roger Hunter just under a year after it was imposed by the Medical Council of Jamaica in May 2025.

The three-member panel of Ambassador Kathryn Phipps, Dr Norda Clare-Pascoe, and Chantal Simpson ordered that Hunter’s practising certificate be restored.

The ruling, handed down on Wednesday, followed submissions by Hunter’s attorney, Hugh Wildman, and the attorney for the Medical Council, Ransford Braham, KC.

The Medical Council, through Braham, conceded that the appeal should be allowed but requested that the disciplinary proceedings be retried.

Relying on Section 13 of the Medical Act, Braham asked the tribunal to exercise its discretion to direct that the original disciplinary proceedings be “reconducted” by the Medical Council.

Section 13(2)(b)(iii) says if the council refuses to register someone as a medical practitioner, or disciplines them (like censuring, suspending, or removing them from the register), that person can appeal the decision to a tribunal within the required time and procedure. The tribunal then has the power to uphold the appeal and order the council to redo the disciplinary process properly.

PROPOSAL REJECTED

However, Wildman rejected the proposal for a rehearing, arguing that the only just outcome would be to “set aside the decision of the council” entirely.

“The appellant rejects this suggestion by the respondent and submits that having conceded on the appeal, that the appeal be allowed, this tribunal should proceed under Section 13(2)(b)(ii), ‘to allow the appeal and set aside the decision of the council’”, Wildman said in his submission.

He further argued that the Medical Council had already shown “wanton and callous disregard” for Hunter’s right to due process.

He said his client had already served nearly the entirety of his suspension and that forcing him to face the same body that originally found him guilty “behind his back” would constitute a “classic case of abuse of process”.

The Medical Council accused Hunter of professional misconduct when it suspended his licence.

“When he came to me and I found out what had happened ,I immediately filed an appeal on his behalf because I thought that the appeal was a clear case of success. They had no choice,” Wildman told The Gleaner.

The tribunal’s ruling follows a December application by Hunter in the Supreme Court for an emergency judicial review, accusing Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton of dereliction of duty.

At the centre of the legal dispute then was Hunter’s claim that Tufton had failed to fulfil a statutory obligation under the Medical Act to appoint a tribunal to hear appeals from aggrieved practitioners.

He said at the time that the absence of the tribunal caused him to be left in a professional “no-man’s land”, unable to overturn his suspension.

The tribunal was subsequently appointed, with Phipps as the chair.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com