S.L. 464.20 Art. 10Complaints and information.  Cap. 525.     Cap. 525.

(1) The relevant Council shall carry out an investigation in terms of article 31 of the Act:

(a) on its own motion if it has a reasonable suspicion of professional misconduct or of an alleged breach of ethical standards; or

(b) upon receiving a complaint concerning alleged professional misconduct or an alleged breach of ethical standards only when the complaint consists of a reasonable allegation in writing explaining the reasons for such allegation and requesting the relevant Council to investigate such allegation:

Provided that where the complaint is made by a person who is not the aggrieved party, the Registrar of the relevant Council shall not accept the filing of the complaint unless the aggrieved party has provided its written authorisation for the complaint to be submitted by the complainant. In the case that the aggrieved party is deceased, the lack of such authorisation by the aggrieved party shall not preclude the relevant Council from carrying out an investigation in accordance with the Act:

Provided further that when the aggrieved party lacks the mental capacity in terms of the Mental Health Act, written authorisation shall be provided by the responsible carer appointed in terms of the said Mental Health Act or the curator appointed by Court decree, as the case may be.

(2) Upon the filing of the complaint, the Registrar shall obtain the written authorisation of the aggrieved party in respect of the disclosure of the aggrieved party’s or complainant’s personal data in terms of sub-regulation (1)(b) as the case may be, for the purposes of the publication of any eventual decision as provided in regulation 22(1).

(3) The Registrar shall submit the complaint or any information submitted to him to the President:

Provided that the relevant Council shall not proceed further unless and until the complaint has been confirmed by means of a declaration on oath by the complainant. Such declaration shall:

(a) state the address and particulars of the complainant or the aggrieved party, as the case may be; and

(b) if any fact declared is not within the personal knowledge of the declarant, state the grounds for his belief in the truth of the fact.

(4) Where the relevant Council decides to investigate on its own motion as referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a), the Registrar of the relevant Council shall inform the aggrieved party about the investigation in his regard and shall obtain his written consent as provided in sub-regulation (1)(b) in respect of the disclosure of the aggrieved party’s personal data in the publication of the decision as provided in regulation 22(1).

(5) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (3), the President shall direct the Registrar to send a notice in writing to the health care professional concerned of the receipt of the complaint and information outlining the substance thereof, or in the event of an investigation of its own motion, send a notice in writing of the basis for such an investigation and to invite the health care professional concerned to submit to the relevant Council, within such date as the President shall determine, but which in any case shall not be less than ten (10) working days and not more than twenty (20) working days from the date of service of this notice, any representations in response thereto which the health care professional may submit, and any such explanation shall be made in writing and shall be received by the Registrar within the period of time granted by the President.

(6) The relevant Council may, in the conduct of its investigation and if so required, request the health care professional, the aggrieved party or the complainant to provide additional explanations or clarifications within a reasonable period of time granted by the relevant Council.

(7) The relevant Council shall conclude its investigation on the conduct of the health care professional within three (3) months from receipt of the complaint by the relevant Council or from the date when the relevant Council decides to conduct an investigation of its own motion, which period may be extended if the matter so merits or if the investigation could not be concluded earlier through no fault of the relevant Council, for a further period of three (3) months, which investigation shall not exceed a total period of six (6) months from the date of receipt of a complaint or commencement of an investigation on its own motion.

(8) The relevant Council shall conduct the investigation expeditiously and shall take any one of the following actions following a decision by simple majority in relation to the matter:

(a) close the investigation and decide to take no further action; or

(b) issue a charge against the health care professional detailing the outcome of the investigation, the alleged professional misconduct or alleged breach of ethical standards by the health care professional, and the basis for the issuance of such charge.

(9) In the event that the relevant Council decides not to take further action, the relevant Council may consider that the matter merits the issuance of a letter of guidance to the health care professional:

Provided that if the matter does not merit the issuance of a letter of guidance, the health care professional shall be informed in writing, that the relevant Council has decided not to take any further action:

Provided further that in the event that the relevant Council closes the investigation in accordance with sub-regulation (8)(a), the relevant Council may reserve the right to re-appoint the matter to the agenda of the relevant Council should it receive further information or other similar or ancillary complaints on the conduct of the health care professional within a period of not less than six (6) months but not more than one (1) year from the date of the letter of guidance.

(10) Where the relevant Council closes an investigation that was initiated on the basis of a complaint under sub-regulation (8)(a), the relevant Council shall issue a letter rejecting the complaint, which letter shall contain the reasons for its decision not to uphold the complaint and which shall be served on the complainant without delay.

(11) When the relevant Council decides to take any one of the actions in accordance with sub-regulation (8), the relevant Council shall take into consideration the merits of the case on the following basis:

(a) the prospect of the case leading to the finding of actual misconduct;

(b) the adequate interpretation of the relevant code of ethics pertaining to the respective relevant Council or parts thereof;

(c) the need to protect the public against malpractice and misconduct on both a professional and ethical basis;

(d) the need to protect the well-being of patients;

(e) the need to ensure and protect the reputation of, and public confidence in the profession;

(f) the need to protect members from unwarranted or vexatious allegations; and

(g) any other matter deemed necessary or relevant to the case or complaint in question.