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Elizabeth Cheung

Hong Kong’s medical watchdog has said a target time frame for handling complaints will not be necessary as it presented its rebuttal against a government proposal that includes major reforms to its operations, disciplinary sentencing, internal supervision and membership make-up.
The Medical Council on Tuesday presented its views on the government’s proposed amendments, which were first laid out in late June and aimed to speed up the watchdog’s process and accountability in handling complaints.
In a written submission to the Legislative Council’s bills committee on the medical registration amendment bill, dated Tuesday and uploaded to the Legco website the next day, the Medical Council’s chairwoman Professor Grace Tang Wai-king said a dedicated working group had been established to study the details of the bill and assess its implications for the watchdog’s operations.
Among the government’s proposed amendments was requiring the watchdog to make public the target time frames for specific steps in its complaints procedure, and set up milestone dates for submissions of documents and inquiries.
“There is no need to stipulate the requirement for the Medical Council of Hong Kong to set target time frames for specific steps in the law,” the council stated in the submission.
“Instead, this can be handled administratively by [the council] as [has been] the practice of government departments and other statutory bodies.”
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau previously said that the reform could help cut down the inquiry process from an average of 42 months to an estimated 29 months.
The suggested changes to the watchdog’s operations followed a 15-year delay in its handling of a complaint against Dr Sit Sou-chi, who was accused of a blunder that left a boy permanently disabled in 2009.
The case was terminated last year on the grounds that the procedural delay prevented a fair hearing, but the council made a U-turn and resumed the inquiry in April following a public outcry.
Under the proposal, the government also planned to overhaul the disciplinary system for medical professionals, including replacing suspension orders for doctors. But the council thought otherwise.
“It is suggested to retain the option of a suspension order … to cater for professional misconduct in certain situations,” the watchdog said, adding that the arrangement could be applicable to cases that did not involve patient safety.
The watchdog also strongly objected to a proposal to specify its supervisory role in overseeing its secretariat’s performance.
“The chairman and members of the Medical Council of Hong Kong who are working on part-time and voluntary basis are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deal with every detail of the work and performance of the secretary [or] secretariat,” the watchdog said, quoting a member who “strongly questioned” the government’s proposal.

On the proposed changes to the council’s membership, including the addition of three directly appointed seats to expand the number of members to 35, the watchdog said “the operation of [the council] might be adversely affected if the government appointed ‘strangers’ who were not familiar with the roles and functions of [the council] to fill the seats”.
Instead, the watchdog said those three seats should be filled by doctors from different organisations.
The government had previously proposed adding three lay members who were healthcare professionals other than doctors, appointed by Hong Kong’s chief executive, to “promote multidisciplinary collaboration”.
The watchdog also expressed doubts about including the government’s commissioner for primary healthcare in the council, saying that its functions were focused on the registration and regulation of doctors rather than the formulation of healthcare policy.
The legislature is scrutinising the government’s amendment bill related to the reforms to the council, with the next meeting expected to be held in late September.


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Hong Kong Medical Council rejects proposal on time frame for handling complaints

Hong Kong’s Medical Council has rejected the government’s proposed reforms to its complaints handling and other procedures. Photo: Karma Lo

Health chief Lo Chung-mau previously said the proposed changes to the watchdog’s complaints procedure would shorten the inquiry process from an average of 42 months to an estimated 29 months. Photo: May Tse

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Senior Counsel Johnny Mok had argued that the disciplinary process had dragged on for years and a fair trial was impossible. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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The Medical Council took more than a decade to resolve the case. Photo: Karma Lo

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Health chief Lo Chung-mau has pledged to uphold medical professional standards. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

In written submission to Legislative Council, watchdog also rejects proposed reforms to its disciplinary sentencing, supervision and membership


In written submission to Legislative Council, watchdog also rejects proposed reforms to its disciplinary sentencing, supervision and membership.


Legislative Council of Hong Kong (Legco)

China

Lo Chung-mau

Hong Kong Medical Council rejects proposal on time frame for handling complaints

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}In written submission to Legislative Council, watchdog also rejects proposed reforms to its disciplinary sentencing, supervision and membership

In written submission to Legislative Council, watchdog also rejects proposed reforms to its disciplinary sentencing, supervision and membership