Philipsburg:--- Attorney at Law Maarten Le Poole and Medical Director of the St. Maarten Medical Center Dr. George Scot spent almost two hours trying to convince Judge Van Veen that the court should suspend the fines the Inspectorate levied against the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) for the non compliance of the demands the Inspectorate placed on the St. Maarten Medical Center. Le Poole contested the first six of thirteen demands that were placed on the St. Maarten Medical Center which had to be met by October 25th, 2012. Failing to comply with the demands on higher supervision the Inspectorate said the SMMC would have to pay $500 per day for each demand. According to a letter the SMMC sent to the Inspectorate on October 25th, 2012, Le Poole claimed that SMMC has complied with the first six demands. This was contested by the Inspectorate who said that the SMMC only complied with fourth demand by providing a phone number on which he (Dr. Scot) could be reached when he is not on St. Maarten. Le Poole also told the court that the Inspectorate is not authorized to supervise or impose fines on any medical institution. He said such cannot be found in the law.
Attorney at Law Jairo Bloem in his defense on behalf of the Inspectorate cited the several ordinances that gives the Inspector General the power to supervise all medical institutions, to levy fines, and to even close institutions that are not up to par with the health care standards that are laid down in the law. The two most important laws Bloem showed the court were the laws on Health Care Institutions and the law governing the Inspectorate.
During the hearing the lawyers representing the Supervisory Council attended and monitored the procedures. Judge van Veen will issue his decision on November 13th, 2012.
In the meantime, SMN News learnt that Dr. George Scot was supposed to meet with the Inspectorate at 4pm Monday afternoon to discuss the various positions he is holding at the St. Maarten Medical Center. A source close to SMMC said that Scot refused to attend the meeting, instead he had his lawyer send the Inspectorate a letter advising them to refer to the Supervisory Council for the information they need on Scot's positions at the SMMC.
Click here to read the defense presented by Attorney at Law Jairo Bloem 1.
Click here to read the defense presented by Attorney at Law Jairo Bloem 2.
