Hong Kong health chief seeks to speed up Medical Council’s complaint handling
But Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau warns against ‘arbitrarily’ adding non-professional members to watchdog
Hong Kong’s health minister is seeking to amend legislation to reform and speed up the complaint system of a medical watchdog, but has warned against “arbitrarily” adding more non-professionals to the body.
Lo Chung-mau said on Saturday that the Health Bureau would table an amendment to the Medical Registration Ordinance at a meeting of the Legislative Council’s health services panel in February, with the aim of implementing the new measures in April.
The amendment would review the Medical Council’s membership structure and introduce measures to expedite the statutory body’s handling of complaints, he added.
The council came under scrutiny after it terminated proceedings against paediatrician Sit Sou-chi about 15 years after he was accused of a medical blunder that allegedly left a child with cerebral palsy and quadriplegia.
The decision was made due to a procedural delay of 8½ years by the council’s secretariat, sparking outrage from the child’s parents. Under mounting pressure, the embattled council eventually overturned its earlier ruling in November.
Some have also accused the council of being dominated by doctors who defend one another, and have called for more lay members to be appointed.