Readying watchdog for major surgery: Joseph Lau
Professor Joseph Lau says unpopularity comes with the job of Medical Council chairman - and a big overhaul is set to mean more controversy
When he was offered the chance to take over as chairman of the city's much-maligned doctors' watchdog, the Medical Council, Professor Joseph Lau Wan-yee's wife had a warning for him.
"When I first considered taking up this job, my wife told me I should be prepared to be hated by some people," Lau recalled last week. "Doctors would not like me as there is a conflict of interest; the public would not like me either as my work might not be understood by many people.
"But I still feel the job is an honour," said Lau, whose day job is an expert on surgery of the liver, pancreas and biliary system at Chinese University.
The council has long been under scrutiny. It is accused of being too protective of doctors, being too slow and reactive when it comes to disciplining them and punishing them too lightly for the public's liking.
Major surgery is expected to be announced by the government later this year, at the council's instigation, with measures to speed up the complaints procedure and restore public confidence anticipated. The council's problems were highlighted by the case of singer Peter Cheung Shung-tak and his wife, former actress Eugina Lau Mei-kuen, whose nine-year battle for justice over the death of their newborn son in 2005 ended in June with a two-year ban for an obstetrician.
Lau last week presented another demand for reform. He wants a central system to handle all complaints about doctors from patients under a unified standard.