Hong Kong to raise share of Medical Council lay members to 31%, set inquiry time
Proposal aims to foster more diverse participation, while time frame for complaints to be made public will also be set, health minister says
Hong Kong authorities have proposed overhauling the city’s medical watchdog by raising the proportion of lay members to more than a third and requiring the time frame for handling complaints to be made public, which may help slash the inquiry process from 42 to 29 months.
Unveiling the proposed amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance on Friday, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said the reform aimed to foster more diverse participation in the city’s Medical Council.
“We aim to maintain the number of medical doctors while increasing lay members … as this is the only way to truly reflect the diverse views within the association,” he said.
He added that authorities would also reform the mechanism for handling complaints to maintain trust between patients and doctors.
The bill would be tabled before the Legislative Council on July 8 for its first reading.
The suggested overhaul of the watchdog followed a 15-year delay in the Medical Council’s handling of a complaint against Dr Sit Sou-chi, who was accused of a blunder that left a boy permanently disabled in 2009.