CAY HILL--St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) on Thursday condemned and strongly refuted reports published on a website on Thursday that general surgeon Dr. Luc Mercelina had botched a recent surgery.
SMMC General Director Kees Klarenbeek said in a press release that the hospital was compelled to respond to the article as it was “damaging and not based on the truth.”
Klarenbeek said the article accused Mercelina of misplacing a port-a-cath in a patient’s lung. “First and foremost SMMC emphasises that Dr. Mercelina, as from the start of his work for SMMC since July 2016, never performed a port-a-cath procedure. The statement in the article is therefore irrefutably untrue,” Klarenbeek said.
“Furthermore, SMMC has no indication that such a procedure performed in the SMMC resulted in any calamity nor has received any such complaint in the past months. The news article is seriously insulting and damaging to the reputation of Dr. Mercelina and the hospital.
“Also the article has resulted in incorrect and damaging comments. SMMC has not been provided the opportunity whatsoever to respond to the [website mentioned – Ed.] findings before publishing the article. Dr. Klarenbeek nor Dr. [Felix – Ed.] Holiday has been contacted.”
The hospital is seeking legal advice on filing a report with the Prosecutor regarding slander and defamation.
