The Council of State must rule on legitimacy of complaints from employers to council of Order.
An employer dissatisfied with a doctor’s certificate to establish a link between health deteriorated to one of its employees and ir working conditions has right to ask Council of College of physicians of punishing author of this writing ? This question was, Wednesday, 13 September, at heart of a hearing to State Council, seized by association Health and occupational medicine (SMT), as well as by organizations of doctors and victims at work and two confederations : UGICT-CGT (frames) and South-Solidarity.
origin of this request, filed in September 2016, case of Dominique Huez, doctor of work at nuclear power plant of Chinon (Indre-et-Loire). To have written such a certificate in 2011 for an employee of a subcontractor of EDF, company Orys, who made complaint, Chamber disciplinary national Council of College of physicians has inflicted on Mr.’huez a warning and was ordered to pay 1 000 euros to Orys. Considering that complaint of employer was not admissible by Order, and pending decision of State Council, Mr. Huez, who is also president of SMT, has refused to pay. He n received a visit from a bailiff in march 2017, which had blocked its bank accounts and wanted to seize its vehicles.
It is six years of confrontation, for him and for his colleagues, doctors or doctors of or specialities, exercising, for example, in consultations of suffering at work, all of which can be brought to write of such certificates and, refore, could be convicted. A hundred complaints from employers would be well received each year in councils of College of physicians.
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untenable Position
All this because of an adverb – “in particular” – was introduced in 2007 in an article of code of public health. This article lists persons and authorities able to introduce a disciplinary action against a doctor before a council of Order. The complaints are “trained in particular” by patients, local organizations of compulsory health insurance, doctors advice with an organization, or a social security fund, associations for defence of patients ‘ rights, minister of health, prefect as well as various institutions that details specifically article. It is this “particular” which allows employers to file complaints with commission order, that applicants requested council of State to repeal.
Why repeal this word ? In context of a complaint to an employer, a conciliation must take place between two parties. However, at this stage, doctor finds himself in an untenable position : eir he defends his certificate, and it must n violate medical confidentiality by disclosing information from record of his patient to a third party ( employer), which can be condemned to a penalty of up to cancellation. Moreover, members of council of order may mselves, “prosecution for complicity in violation of medical confidentiality,” says, in its conclusions, office of counsel for applicants, Teissonnière-Topaloff-Lafforgue-Andreu. Be, to comply with his ethical obligation vis-à-vis medical secrecy, physician does not and is deprived of a fair trial, which could lead to a sanction.
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” Hard “
Dominique Huez speaks of ” hard “, “harassment” against physicians who do only ir job. For him, real purpose of se complaints is ” to frighten doctors who certify medically a link between harm to health of ir patients, employees and ir working conditions. It wants to silence m. “
This “particular” is in reality a patch. In initial drafting, following a decree of 25 march 2007, list of potential claimants against a physician was limited to individuals and authorities cited. Less than a month later, administration introduced adverb in question. The applicants have claimed to former minister of health, Marisol Touraine, in 2016, repeal of adverb. She has not responded to mail, which implicitly constitutes a rejection of request.
so It is now turn of council of State to decide. In case of rejection, Dominique Huez, or doctors convicted and ir supporters, could seize european Court of human rights.
