I refer to the report headlined, 'Hippocratic hypocrites?' (South China Morning Post, May 14).
From what I can see the Medical Council is doing both patients and doctors a disservice.
Patients do not know whether the doctors they are consulting have committed errors in the past, but they do know that this is a possibility. If the doctor has committed an error, it is unlikely that the patient will get to know about it. If the patient has a complaint about the doctor, it is unlikely the Medical Council will do anything about it. The highly motivated and trustworthy doctors who constitute the majority in Hong Kong, must feel very embarrassed that their ethically-challenged peers are thrown back into the pond to lower the quality of competence that might otherwise be expected.
Perhaps the Medical Council could tell us clearly what it does for patients, as it might be better for us to know that we have no protection rather than to hope for the best.
WILLIAM HABENICHT Kowloon
