Dr. Carl Bruce, the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) senior neurosurgeon whose leadership as chief doctor has come under scrutiny in recent months, has been acquitted of charges arising from allegations that he assaulted fellow neurosurgeon Dr. Roger Hunter nearly two decades ago.
18° North confirmed with the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday that Bruce was found not guilty of one count each of assault at common law and malicious destruction of property on Monday.
Hunter had alleged that while in one of the operating theaters at the publicly-funded UHWI in the summer of 2007, Bruce ordered him out of the room and advanced toward him, hitting him in the head, face, neck and chest, damaging his shirt and tie, but he didn’t report the matter to police until November 2024 —17 years later.
Though he explained that this was because he had left the country to pursue further medical studies, various news reports put him back in Jamaica years before 2024. He even rose to local prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
According to media reports, Parish Court Judge Alwayne Smith questioned the plausibility of Hunter’s account and pointed to the lengthy delay before the matter was reported to police which put Bruce at a disadvantage in remembering the incident. Smith also suggested that there was insufficient evidence supporting the claim of a “non-stop onslaught lasting 22 to 25 minutes” by a man said to weigh over 200 pounds, including no medical report of any injury.
Bruce didn’t respond to comment for reaction to the verdict from 18° North but told The Gleaner, “My church, my grounding and my faith always remind me about weapons that will rise up against me.”
But, he said, “The judge saw through it, and I am sorry it wasted everyone’s time.”
Monday’s outcome is noteworthy because the case against Bruce was alluded to by senior clinicians in a Jan. 16 letter to UHWI’s management as one of the reasons he shouldn’t remain as the public image of the hospital. According to the Staff Orders for the Public Service, where an officer has been charged with a criminal offence, he or she “may” be interdicted from duty on half, quarter or no salary, pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings.
The senior clinicians also cited longstanding complaints from staff about Bruce’s alleged unprofessional behavior, including another court case where a nurse filed a lawsuit against him and UHWI, complaining of assault and battery arising from an incident in the ICU in 2023. That civil case in the Supreme Court will have its first case management conference on September 30, according to a June 15 email to 18° North from the court’s media liaison officer.
But despite the senior clinicians’ attempts to get Bruce removed, including writing to the prime minister, he still remains in the position, according to two senior staffers involved in patient care at UHWI. One of them told 18° North most of the senior doctors continue to boycott the meetings that Bruce chairs.
Dr. Myrton Smith, the UHWI representative of the Association of Government Medical Consultants, a union body for the senior doctors, didn’t respond to requests for comment on Bruce’s acquittal.
Meanwhile, in a voicenote to 18° North, Hunter called the judgment “a bad day for criminal justice in Jamaica.” He told the Jamaica Observer he will appeal the decision.
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*Some writing and editing help from ChatGPT, but fact-checked by 18° North before publication.
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