Give us a bigger Medical Council to handle complaints, says Hong Kong doctor in wake of scathing court judgment

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Gabriel Choi wants a bigger Medical Council to handle the large number of complaints. Photo: David Wong

Published: 4:15pm, 13 Oct 2015Updated: 7:35pm, 13 Oct 2015

The government should change the law to increase the number of council members on the doctor’s watchdog to speed up disciplinary hearings against medical practitioners, said Dr Gabriel Choi Kin.

Choi, a member of the Medical Council and chairman of the preliminary investigation committee, made the comment following a court case yesterday in which a judge slammed the Medical Council’s handling of complaints against a paediatrician accused of causing an infant’s finger to be amputated in 2009.

In a strongly worded judgment, High Court judge Mr Justice Kevin Zervos ordered the council, its chairman and deputy chairman to quash their decision to dismiss the family’s second complaint and review it again.

“We respect the court’s decision,” Choi told an RTHK programme this morning. “We will appoint a new chairman and vice-chairman of the committee to start a preliminary investigation as soon as possible.”

Choi said the committee formed by eight council members had to conduct preliminary reviews of 300 to 500 complaints against doctors every year, many of which he said were trivial and groundless.

For example, he said many complaints were made about the attitude of doctors. He also said there were over 100 about Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man, who is a doctor by profession, being late at functions.