News
13TH AUGUST, 2023 | CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS NOW REQUIRED FOR DOCTORS
Kingston, Jamaica – As part of its commitment to advancing the healthcaresystem and ensuring doctors are well-equipped to meet the mental healthdemands of the time, the Medical Council of Jamaica announces a critical update to Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements. All doctors will be required to pursue an additional 2 hours of CME, specificallydedicated to Mental Health & Wellness in order to renew practicingcertificates in January 2024. This increase moves the total required CMEhours from 20 to 22, enhancing doctors’ ability to address the mental healthimplications of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Chairman of the Medical Council of Jamaica Dr. the Hon. John Hall
presents the MCJ most outstanding graduate, FMS,UWI, Mona Campus award to Dr. Aundre Roberts.
ANNUAL RENEWAL OF PRACTICING CERTIFICATES
Registered Medical Practitioners in keeping with the Amendments to the Medical Act (1996, 2004) must possess a practicing certificate renewed annually. This requires that the Council is satisfied that the practitioner has complied with the prescribed requirements for continuing medical education (CME), 20 hours as of 2014. 2 hours of which must be in ethics. The appropriate renewal fee must be paid between January 2 and end of February of the year. The penalty for payment after this date is the fee is doubled and the practitioner is practising illegally with medico-legal implications. See this article by Dr D.E Aarons West Indian med. j. vol.56 no.3 Mona June 2007. Medical Council of Jamaica apologises for names inadvertently omitted and request that contact be made with the Council (Tel. # 9223116).
Medical Council of Jamaica Relocation Notice
MEDICAL COUNCIL OF JAMAICA
18 WEST ROAD, UWI, MONA CAMPUS
KINGSTON 7, JAMAICA.
Email: medcojam@cwjamaica.com
Website: jamaicamedicalcouncil.org
TEL:(876) 978-8538; 978-0796; 784-5013; FAX: 978-2159; 978-2118
Dear Physicians, Partners and Clients
The Medical Council of Jamaica would like to first express our sincere gratitude for the support and co-operation you have consistently given to us. Please carefully note that we have relocated, our current address is stated above.
Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
Looking forward to welcoming you to our new location!
SIGNED: REGISTRAR
The Registrar reported that Council had met with the Minister
on Thursday January 19 at 10am in the Minister’s Conference room at the RKA Building, 10-16 Grenada Way.
Seven items were discussed
1JADEP Cards to help the elderly and other persons with financial constraints to get medication
2Cost of drugs especially for critical illness
3Amendments to the Medical Act
4An investigative arm for doctors practising illegally
5Access to Hope Gardens for Senior Citizens for exercises
6Prescriptive Rights for non-Physicians
7Regional Health Authorities
In relation to the Regional Authorities the Minister requested Council to prepare a document outlining the reasons why Council thought these bodies were not performing and make recommendations within a short period. The Council agreed to form a Committee and recommendations would be forwarded to the Minister’s office.
Minister of Health, Honorable Christopher Tufton meets with members of the Medical Council of Jamaica L to R: Dr Kenneth Vaughan, Dr William Aiken, Dr Seni Ononuju, Dr Ray Fraser, Chairman of the Council Dr John Hall, Chief Medical Officer Dr Winston De La Haye, Minister of Health Hon. Christopher Tufton, Prof. Trevor McCartney, Mr Wentworth Charles, Registrar of the Council Prof. Howard Spencer and Dean of the UWI Faculty of Medical Sciences Prof. Horace Fletcher
NOTICE TO ALL DOCTORS RE: MANDATORY WORKPLACE HIV ANTIBODY TESTING
Medical Council of Jamaica wishes to instruct all doctors that requests for mandatory HIV antibody testing for individuals to enter into or renew contracts or for promotions is strictly prohibited.
1JThe International Labour Organization’s Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work state that, “HIV/AIDS screening should not be required of job applicants or persons in employment
2Additionally in Jamaica the Office of the Prime Minister and the Office of the Cabinet- HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy (December, 2008) speaks to non-discrimination at the workplace.
3The Ministry of Labour has a Workplace Policy passed in Parliament in February 2010 which clearly states that there should be no workplace HIV –antibody testing (whether for pre-employment screening, pre contractual screening, for promotions or renewal of work contracts.
REGISTRAR MEDICAL COUNCIL OF JAMAICA JANUARY 24,2017.
Doctors Currently Registered to Practice Medicine in Jamaica
From the desk of the registrar of the Medical Council of Jamaica
Annual Renewal of Practicing Certificates 2015- Lessons learned
The Medical Act requires that registered medical practitioners renew their Practising Certificates annually This exercise must be completed between the first week of January and the end of February.
Renewal after the end of February attracts a doubling of the fee and until this is done doctors are practicing illegally.
The fees are:
0-4 years post graduation – $3000 per year
5-9 years post graduation – $5000 per year
10 years and over – $8000 per year
Age 65 years and over – $2500 per year
Note the penalty for late renewal is doubling of the fee.
In addition to the fee all practitioners except doctors in postgraduate programmes, and SHOs require 20 CME hours of which there are 2 mandatory hours in ethics.
Medical Council continues to get requests for the penalty to be waived based on individuals not remembering cut off date, doctors especially junior doctors in the public sector not having enough free time to pay the fee at the medical council’s office and so on.
Doctors are reminded that the fee may be paid by cheque sent by mail, direct deposit to the MCJ’s bank account, asking a friend, messenger or colleague to deliver payment with evidence of required CME hours and certificates can be collected at the same time or posted out to addresses provided.
All this information is contained in reminder letters mailed out to all doctors in MCJ’s registry annually at considerable cost. Many letters are returned with stamp “individuals not known”.
Doctors are reminded that the medical act requires doctors to provide their up-to-date permanent addresses and this information is printed on the registration certificate (see attachment).
“The register shall be open for inspection by any member of the public at all reasonable times, and a copy of the register shall be published in the Gazette by the Registrar at such times and in such manner as prescribed. (Medical Act 6 (2)”- see attachment). Last publication of the register was in 2011 and the next publication will be this year, 2015. The time between publications is related to the cost.
The consequences of not providing one’s permanent address is set out in the act 10 (2) (a) (b) and may result in removal of a doctor’s name from the register. The act directs removal if a response to either of two registered letters sent over a 6 month period is not received.
A proposal will be made to Council that all returned mail will be processed and registered letters will be sent to individuals whose names appear on this list. If no response is received after two registered letters the individual will be removed from the Register.
Removal of Office of Medical Council of Jamaica
The offices of the MCJ was moved to 37 Windsor Avenue in March 2014. Notices were placed in the news media and on the MCJ website jamaicamedicalcouncil.org. A directions map was also placed on the website.
Notices were posted in the Ministry of Health Building, 2-4 King Street, which housed the previous offices of the Council prior to the move. A reminder of the new address was included in the annual mail out of notices to all doctors in our register.
It was therefore surprising the number of doctors who were unaware of the move and the address of the new office at 37 Windsor Avenue which was confused with the MAJ’s office.
Some of the responses from individuals who were unaware of the office re-location:
“Received annual letter but did not open”
“Received letter, opened it but did not note contents of letter”
“Letter not received, did not provide new address for the register”
“Did not see the announcements in the newspaper because I don’t read them”
“Did not hear the announcements on the radio. I don’t listen to the radio”
“I assumed that since it was on Windsor Avenue it must be at MAJ headquarters.”
“I knew the address was 37 Windsor Avenue, but did not see the MCJ sign on the front wall of the premises”
Registrar
Medical Council of Jamaica
Congratulations to our colleagues in the field of medicine
ORDER OF JAMAICA OJ
Dr. Kenneth Leo O’neil Baugh
Professor Denise Eldemire-Shearer, CD
Professor Renn Osmond Holness
THE ORDER OF DISTINCTION IN THE RANK OF COMMANDER (CD)
Dr. Donavan Norton Calder
Professor Michael Emerson Clare McFarlane
Dr. Granville Washington McKenzie Smith
THE ORDER OF DISTINCTION IN THE RANK OF OFFICER (OD)
Dr. Daniel St. Mortiman Graham
CUSTOS ROTULORUM
Dr. Patricia Dunwell
Custos Rotulorum for the Parish of St. Andrew
Ms Vancetta Barnett retires from Medical Council Administration
Ms Vancetta Barnett retired from the post of Secretary to the Registrar in the Medical Council of Jamaica on December 31, 2014. She has served the Council faithfully for over 26 years. Ms Barnett and Mrs Inez Robinson-Gammon have been the pillars of support for the Council over these many years. Speaking at the function in recognition of her service Ms Barnett recounted her experience working with different Registrars. She also spoke about the Council functioning on a limited budget but always getting the work done.
MCJ Offices Relocating
Medical Council Gets Tough On Doctors – Continuing Education Warning Issued For Doctors
Amid growing concerns about falling health-care standards at some of the country’s public health facilities, the Medical Council of Jamaica is warning doctors that they could be banned from practising locally if they fail to meet the annual continuing medical education (CME).
Medical Council Clears The Air On Stem Cell Research
The Medical Council has taken note of the discussion in the press regarding stem cell research. Council has also noted that Dr Janice Simmonds-Fisher, in her article published on December 4, 2013 in The Gleaner, has stated that the Medical Council of Jamaica has given approval and its blessings to this form of therapy.
Medical Council of Jamaica welcomes our new Minister of Health
Letter to the new Minister of Health.
