Libya aid doctors insisting foreign medics be registered

Government’s efforts to increase its humanitarian aid to the civilian population of Libya with a field hospital, is facing difficulties as Maltese doctors have made it clear that any foreign doctor called in to provide assistance, must go through all legal procedures of registration.

Speaking to MaltaToday, Dr Martin Balzan, president of the Medical Association of Malta made it clear that it although on principle the association has no objection to the idea of a field hospital to assist injured Libyan civilians, “any foreign doctors who come in to assist, must go through all necessary procedures for registration.”

The initiative is being undertaken with the Qatari government.

MaltaToday is reliably informed that the MAM was vociferous in insisting on this point with the Medical Council, the body that handles the registration of doctors.

Contacted, paediatrician and prospective Labour candidate Chris Fearne – who is currently overseeing the medical aid to children brought over from Benghazi – stressed that it would be unacceptable for government to give foreign doctors a free hand to work in Malta, even under the pretext of humanitarian grounds.

A number of meetings were reportedly held between government and the Medical Council on this issue some days ago, and while a health ministry spokesman told MaltaToday that the council was “supportive” of the initiative, an agreement has been reached on a mechanism to fast-track applications from doctors wishing to work in Malta to provide humanitarian aid.

But in a separate email to MaltaToday, the Medical Council said that all registration is done in accordance to the Healthcare Professions Act and EU Directives.

The procedure normally takes about two weeks, “depending on the availability of all relevant documentation,” the Medical Council said.

But it also added, that this also applies to all NGOs, including Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and Mare Nostrum.