'Biased' body backed
The head of the Hospital Authority yesterday backed the body that hears complaints from patients after it came under fire from doctors planning to boycott hearings.
Authority chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching hit out at criticism of the Public Complaints Committee after more than 1,500 public doctors said they planned to boycott the body over biased judgments and members who 'played God'.
Mr Woo said the rise in complaints received by the committee showed the body had credibility among patients. He said the concerns raised by doctors were only 'individual cases' warning that the authority's board should not interfere with the committee's work. 'That would give the public an impression that we are on the side of our staff,' he said.
The chairman said committee members were from different backgrounds and remained unbiased in making rulings. 'We are not rejecting or accepting the criticism,' he said.
Earlier this week it was revealed the Public Doctors' Association was seeking legal advice to see whether doctors could refuse to attend committee hearings.
Public doctors were furious about damage they felt the committee was doing to their image.
