bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Danny Mok

Emily Tsang

A prominent doctor has walked out as the investigation chairman of the city’s medical watchdog, which has been embroiled in recent debates over a reform.
The resignation of Dr Gabriel Choi Kin from the Medical Council’s preliminary investigation committee (PIC) means that patients’ complaints against doctors will see delays until a replacement is identified.
On Monday, Choi, 67, wrote to the Legislative Council’s Bills Committee – which is currently discussing a reform to speed up the watchdog’s handling of disciplinary inquiries and improve its transparency – about his resignation with immediate effect. He also submitted a resignation letter to Medical Council chairman Professor Joseph Lau Wan-yee.
Always at the heart of the debate: Dr Gabriel Choi Kin
Choi, a private kidney specialist, will remain on the council as a member.
The seat he vacated will be filled after an election expected to be held next month.
“The position in the PIC is a job that pleases nobody,” Choi told the Post.
The position in the PIC is a job that pleases nobody.
Dr Gabriel Choi Kin
He said the workload was “killing everyone”, but the committee still drew criticism from the public for delays, adding that the position should be taken up by a medical professional who had already retired from practice.
Choi also said he disagreed with the proposed reform for the watchdog.
Currently, half of the 28-strong body consists of government appointees from the Department of Health and universities, and half are elected doctors.
Among the 14 elected seats, seven are voted on by registered doctors, and the remaining seven are elected by the board members of the Medical Association.
The government’s proposal involves adding four laypeople – bringing the total to eight – in order to speed up disciplinary hearings.
The hope is that with more manpower, the time required for disciplinary action against a doctor would be shortened from an average of 58 months to 24 months.
Doctors’ leader cautious over more lay members on Medical Council
But Choi disagreed and said the government’s plan would not speed up the process since there is still a shortage of manpower on the PIC, which is responsible for investigating each and every complaint and deciding whether a hearing should be held.
He said four more doctors should be added to the council, alongside the four additional laypeople.
Choi added: “If the bill was passed and the time to handle the complaints was not shortened, they could lay the blame on me for not speeding up the handling and causing a pile-up, and I become a scapegoat.”
The council receives over 500 complaints against doctors every year, and all of them have to be investigated by the PIC. Most of them were trivial and groundless, Choi said.
Choi is the likely candidate for the next president of the Medical Association, the city’s largest doctors’ group, after the resignation of Dr Louis Shih Tai-cho several weeks ago. The two were also involved in a dispute over the government’s reform plan.


‘Workload is killing everyone’: Dr Gabriel Choi Kin resigns as investigation chairman of Hong Kong medical watchdog

Dr Gabriel Choi disagrees with the proposed Medical Council reform. Photo: Edward Wong

News

Hong Kong

Health & Environment

His post as head of Medical Council’s preliminary investigation committee is expected to be filled after an election next month


‘Workload is killing everyone’: Dr Gabriel Choi Kin resigns as investigation chairman of Hong Kong medical watchdog

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}His post as head of Medical Council’s preliminary investigation committee is expected to be filled after an election next month

His post as head of Medical Council’s preliminary investigation committee is expected to be filled after an election next month