dysfunctional now and cannot put pressure on the Medical Council to take its role seriously. In the event, issues of bias in treatment and consequently negligence cannot be addressed without restoring credibility to the Medical Council. In part this may be achieved by passing the amendment to the Medical Council Act, which has been stalled for various reasons, giving more teeth to it. But essentially, it requires a concerted effort by conscientious professionals to ensure that the code of ethics is an active principle of medical practice.