SYDNEY, N.S. — A rally is being planned for a Cape Breton-based doctor whose medical licence was suddenly revoked.
Dr. Manivansan Moodley, an obstetrician and gynecologist, was given one week to close his practice after the doctor sponsoring him personally gave him a letter saying he could no longer do so.
Because Moodley is from India and is South African trained, he is practising with a defined licence. This is the licence given to doctors who have not yet met Canadian medical licensing requirements.
When a doctor is practicing in Canada with a defined licence, they need to have two doctors overseeing their work: one who is in the same field or a similar one and another who is a sponsor. Without one of these two, the licence is revoked.
“I really feel badly for Dr. Moodley,” said Dr. Margaret Fraser, the president of the Cape Breton Medical Staff Association who hopes to attend the rally but didn’t organize it.
“As far as I can tell, he’s done nothing wrong. ...I have worked with him and he is very competent, very good with patients. It didn’t matter what time of day or night, whenever I needed to call him he was always available.”
In the summer, Moodley took time off from his practice to take the Royal College of Physician and Surgeons of Canada special exam which he passed.
Fraser said she thought this would mean he had met the requirements for a Canadian medical licence and should not have needed the doctor sponsor or mentor anymore.
However, Fraser said after he completed this, he was asked to take the two Medical Council of Canada evaluating examinations after he passes the specialist test. The first council exam is generally taken by medical students in their third year and the second by students in their fourth year or first year of residency.
“I think it’s not right to ask him to write these exams. If he had come here right out of medical school ... or hadn’t passed any specialty exams, yes make him write these tests,” Fraser said.
“But for someone with his experience, a bachelor's in medicine, a master's in medicine, a PHD in medicine and more than 20 years' experience – it's like finishing your bachelor of arts and having to write a Grade 12 exam.”
Fraser also said having his licence revoked could mean Moodley will not be able to work anywhere in Canada.
“This could be a career-ending move by the college,” she said.
The Cape Breton Post has been told the Nova Scotia Health Authority is hiring a lawyer on behalf of the doctor to deal with the situation. However, the NSHA has declined to comment on the basis this is a personnel matter.
A spokesperson at the College of Physician and Surgeons of Nova Scotia could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
The rally in support of Moodley has been organized by patients of his and is taking place outside the Cape Breton Regional Hospital at 6 p.m. today (Thursday).
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