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Mary Ann Benitez

The head of a working group looking at ways of reforming the Medical Council says the profession has 'learnt a lesson' from the mobile phone controversy.

Professor Felice Lieh-Mak said yesterday that the council must be more sensitive to the public in future.

The 'defensive' attitude of some doctors in response to public criticism had put the council in deeper water, she said.

It is understood that reforms may end the domination of the Hong Kong Medical Association on the council. Some doctors have asked why the association is allowed to nominate seven of the 28 members to the council.

Professor Lieh-Mak, a former Medical Council chairman, was appointed on Wednesday to lead a 17-member Medical Council taskforce on reform.

This follows the outcry when the council cleared Queen Mary Hospital surgeon Dr Tung Hiu-ming of professional misconduct after he took a mobile phone call while removing intestinal polyps from a patient.

Professor Lieh-Mak said: 'We learnt a lesson from the incident. I supported the judgment of the ruling, but the way it was presented and defended subsequently by some doctors has caused further confrontation.

'The council should be more sensitive to the public. The judgment of a ruling should not only educate the profession, but also be able to address public concern. Now our mission is to restore public trust.'

The taskforce will meet for the first time next week and set up several working groups. It will enter into consultations with various concern groups over the next six weeks.

The group will study the composition of the council, the proportion of lay members to doctors, and other issues. It will consider the possibility of separating the council's roles in investigation and disciplinary hearings.

Secretary for Health and Welfare Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong said the reforms' objective would be to establish a professional self-regulatory body that operated well. He insisted the Government was not interfering with the autonomy of the profession.

Legislator Dr Lo Wing-lok, a member of the Medical Council working group, said the group could consider proposals planned by the General Medical Council in Britain.

The plan there is to create a second layer made up of a supervisory body, chaired by a lay member, that would monitor the functions of the board and have the power to nominate board members.

A Democratic Party survey of 994 people revealed that about one-third believed that half of the Medical Council's 28 members should have no medical background.



Head of reform group says Medical Council's defensive attitude made matters worse