Lawyers specialising in medical malpractice cases said one of the fundamental requirements is the validity of the doctor’s APC, which serves as the licence to practise medicine.
Manmohan Singh Dhillon said the MMC has no legal authority to grant immunity to doctors in this situation, as the Medical Act 1971 contains no such provision.
“The MMC’s duty is to issue APCs to ensure no doctors practise without the proper documentation.
“Insurance companies can easily repudiate any claim citing this clause. In the end, it is the doctors and the claimants who will suffer.
“In some cases, hospitals could face huge problems due to such administrative errors.
“There was one instance where a hospital could not pay damages and had to auction off its building. We do not want the MMC’s decision to cause similar issues,” he told FMT.
Following public uproar over the MMC’s failure to issue APCs to thousands of doctors — despite applications being submitted before the deadline — the healthcare regulator issued a circular yesterday apologising for the delay.
The MMC acknowledged that tens of thousands of registered medical practitioners were affected by the backlog, which followed a sudden surge in applications accompanied by supporting documents.
The council announced yesterday that doctors who had applied on time with valid documents and made payments may continue practising and pledged that the APCs would be issued by the end of January.
Another lawyer specialising in medico-legal cases, NG Vinod, said a mere circular from the MMC allowing doctors to continue working does not exempt them from legal action.
“The courts adhere to the law, which clearly states that practising medicine without a valid APC is an offence.”
He added that such a defence would not hold in court if a doctor facing a malpractice suit argues that the MMC was at fault for not issuing the APC on time.
Vinod said the MMC’s dereliction of duty has placed an unfair burden on doctors, and defending malpractice cases during this period is especially challenging.
“This situation should never have occurred, considering the MMC’s crucial role in regulating healthcare.”
He also noted that an MMC directive alone does not provide legal protection.
He urged Bank Negara Malaysia and the health ministry to meet urgently and give joint assurances that doctors will not be penalised for the MMC’s administrative lapse.
Meanwhile, doctors in private hospitals are facing a dilemma after being instructed to continue working despite expressing their concerns to managements.
One doctor, who requested anonymity, said the hospital management had insisted that operations continue to ensure patients receive treatment.
He noted that doctor chat groups were abuzz with concerns.
“Working for a month without this critical legal document is very risky, even though we are insured. It would be disastrous if insurance companies repudiate any claims,” he said.