Justice Rohan A Phillip yesterday granted leave for Dr. Gilberta St. Rose to file for Judicial Review in respect of the Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Council’s decision against her late last year.
This means that the Council’s decision against Dr. St. Rose is temporarily stayed until the final determination of the matter before the Court.
Further, Dr. St. Rose undertook not to use Ivermectin in respect of COVID-19 until the final determination of the matter before the Court.
Dr. St. Rose was given 14 days to file a fixed date claim against the Council relating to her application. The first hearing of the claim is set for 28 April, 2022.
The Council last year suspended St. Rose’s registration and practicing certificates for a period of six months commencing 7 December, 2021.
The reasons for the suspension were St.Rose prescribing and supplying Ivermectin to her patients as a treatment for COVID-19 in the absence of authorization for said use by the Ministry of Health or the Chief Medical Offical, and for publicly encouraging the use of Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.
St. Rose in response said she was simply utilizing her medical and professional autonomy in the use of an approved drug, using it off label safely and efficaciously, as has been increasingly occurring with many other drugs, including Ivermectin in the private and even public sectors the world over.