Doctors opposing medical council reform are ‘irrational’: ex-council head
Professor Felice Lieh Mak, former chairwoman of the Medical Council, says protesting medics are acting out of ‘self interest’
In a rare move, both former and current heads of the Medical Council have joined forces with patients’ rights groups to oppose doctors blocking government efforts to reform their watchdog.
Professor Felice Lieh Mak, a former council chairwoman who, for 12 years, led the statutory body that licenses and disciplines local doctors, was highly critical of those stalling the reform.
“[The doctors] were irrational,” Lieh Mak said at a press conference arranged by the Society for Community Organisation. “They [opposed the bill] for self-interest, stemming from a mind to protect their own.”
But Au Yiu-kai, a veteran public hospital doctor who acted as a mediator between doctors, government officials and patients’ groups, said he believed most doctors were against the bill “out of a true heart”.
“There was doctor who joined the rally after a 36-hour shift, and another came after hectic life-saving work at a public emergency unit. A lot of these people protested because they were truly concerned.” Au said.