Impersonating a doctor is illegal – Health Minister

…says could be charged criminally

Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony has weighed in on the controversy regarding the impersonation of a doctor, warning that practicing medicine without a licence is a felony.
Dr Anthony was referring to the case of Mikhail Tadius McLennan, who was caught a few days ago posing as a doctor while volunteering at the Guyana Cancer Foundation.

Minister Anthony said the medical practitioner’s act speaks of a doctor’s impersonation and contended that those who are culpable of such offences should face the necessary penalties and consequences.
“The Police and the DPP, I would say, would know how to handle these things. But the laws are there and are clear,” the Minister said.
According to the Medical Practitioner’s Act: “…any person, not being a medical practitioner who takes or uses the name, title, addition or description implying or calculated to imply that he is registered as a medical practitioner under this Act or that he is recognised by law as a person authorised or qualified to practice medicine or surgery; pretends to be or holds himself out as, whether directly or by implication, a person practising, or authorised or qualified to practice medicine or surgery, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for eighteen months.”
On Tuesday the Guyana Cancer Foundation distanced itself from McLennan, who was a volunteer at the institution and who allegedly pretended that he is a medical doctor.
After the news of the Guyana Cancer Foundation started to circulate, McLennan issued a statement on his Facebook page, apologising and confirming that he is not a medical doctor.
Also, Advisor to the Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy noted that he has since advised the Chief Medical Officer to contact the Medical Council of Guyana on this matter, and the matter will be investigated.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the University of Guyana (UG), the country’s premier tertiary education institution, confirmed that McLennan was never registered as a student at any of the university’s campuses.
In a statement, UG said that it views the incident involving McLennan as very serious and urges the young man, and all others wishing to take up significant professions, to follow the lawful and bona fide route in doing so.
Further, the university added that it “does provide many avenues for different types of students as well as academic counselling to assist prospective students in making the right choices in fulfilling their dreams and achieving success.”
It is therefore urging persons to take advantage of these opportunities.
Also, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan whom the man had listed in his CV that was presented to the Cancer Foundation, as a reference and whom he said was his aunt, in a Facebook post denied being a relative of McLennan.
She said: “This character never approached me to be a reference for him and I am in no way related to him.”
The man’s CV also claimed that he is a former student at Queen’s College and Texila American University but persons from those institutions have since denied such.