by Linda Straker
- Registration fee is EC$250 and licencing fee is EC$350
- Licence must be renewed every 3 years
- Failure to register and be licenced can result in maximum fine of EC$250,000
Members of the Lower House of Parliament have approved an amendment to the Health Practitioner Act paving the way for Allied Health Practitioners who fail to register and be licenced with the Grenada Allied Health Council to be charged a maximum fine of EC$250,000 in a Magistrate Court.
Under the 2010 Health Practitioner’s Act, the Grenada Allied Health Council is tasked with assessing, approving, or rejecting applications for a licence. The law came into enforcement in January 2019.
Phillip Telesford, Leader of Government Business in House informed members during the 16 December sitting that the amendment is necessary because the law as it currently reads does not provide for those who violate to be charged as a summary offence. “This bill…is to close a gap that currently exists in section 84 of the principal Act…clause 2 seeks to amend section 83 (3) in paragraphs A and B to the principal Act to insert the word summary before the word conviction to specify that they were created as summary offences,” he said.
Allied health workers who fail to register and are found guilty in the Magistrate Court can be charged a maximum fine of EC$100,000 and or sentenced to 3 years imprisonment. Those who fail to be licenced can be charged a maximum of EC$50,000 while those who fail to be licenced and registered can be charged a maximum of EC$250,000 and or 5 years in jail.
Currently, allied health professionals refer to all healthcare professions that are distinct from Nursing, Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. The registration fee is EC$250 and the licencing fee is EC$350. The licence must be renewed every 3 years.
Allied health workers include but are not limited to Acupuncturists, Audiologists, Audio Metrists, Chiropodists, Chiropractors, Dental Hygienists, Dental Technicians, Dietitians, Emergency Medical Technicians, Emergency Medical Dispatchers, Herbalists, Homeopaths, Masseuses, Imaging Technologists, Naturopathists, Opticians, Occupational Therapists, Podiatrists, Psychotherapists, Psychologists, Physiotherapists, Reflexologists, EMP Specialists, Speech Therapists, Nutritionists, Massagers, Laboratory Technicians, X-Ray Technicians and Sonographers, Venipuncturists/Phlebotomists and Medical Social Workers.
The Grenada Allied Health Council is a corporate body established pursuant to Section 55 Subsection 2 of the Health Practitioner’s Act No. 16 of 2010. The Council’s primary functions are to protect the general public, promote and uphold high standards of practice, facilitate continued competency and maintain public confidence in professionals.
The amendment to the Bill will go into effect after it receives approval from the Senate or Upper House, receives the necessary approval from the Governor General, and be gazetted with a date of effect.
