Motion on “reforming the medical council of Hong Kong”
President, with the rapid advancement in technology and the continuous increase in the transparency of global healthcare, the public has easier access to health information than before and is increasingly aware of patients’ and consumers’ rights. The public has a growing understanding of “quality healthcare services” and is more proactive in questioning clinical decisions, demanding greater accountability from healthcare workers and placing greater emphasis on how to deal with the poor performance of healthcare workers. I am very grateful to Mr Tommy CHEUNG for proposing the motion and Mr Kingsley WONG for proposing the amendment to urge the SAR Government to expeditiously reform the Medical Council of Hong Kong (“MCHK”), which I believe aims to better meet the public’s expectations of healthcare services.
The Legislative Council once conducted research on the composition, complaint investigation and disciplinary inquiry mechanisms of medical councils in several countries. Many colleagues have mentioned earlier that there has been a gradual shift in the healthcare regulatory regimes of many overseas places from the premise of professional self-regulation to co-regulation in partnership with the public. President, this is also the case in many other professions.
Colleagues have also mentioned that following a number of highly publicized medical scandals in the United Kingdom in the 1990s that undermined people’s willingness to tolerate self-regulation, the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom (“UK”) was determined to change the size and composition of its Council and increased the proportion of lay members to ensure its independence. However, I do not wish to see Hong Kong carry out reforms with determination only after the occurrence of major medical scandals as in the UK.
At present, complaint investigation and disciplinary inquiry against a medical practitioner in Hong Kong are both directly processed by MCHK. As mentioned by colleagues just now, the transparency of MCHK is not high at present. It would be more desirable if reference could be made to the practice in other countries and regions to separate the investigation and adjudication functions and make them independent in order to minimize conflict of interest.
In the Mainland, over 60% of medical disputes are resolved through mediation. Although medical malpractice appraisal is also undertaken by relevant medical professionals, medical disputes are handled by the People’s Mediation Committee for Medical Disputes, an independent third party with legal status, which is required to complete mediation within 30 working days from the date of receipt of the case. Prof Priscilla LEUNG also expressed her hope that medical incidents can be dealt with through mediation more often, which I also agree.
The statutory regulation of the healthcare profession in Hong Kong traces back to the enactment of the Medical Registration Ordinance (“the Ordinance”) in the 1950s, through which a regulatory body was established with the aim of promoting the professional standards of medical practitioners, and the practice has been maintained up to this date. Although reforms of MCHK were carried out before, I believe that no one would deem the problems to be completely solved. In addition, after the amendment made by the Government to the Ordinance in 2018 to increase the lay membership of MCHK from 14% to 25%, I think it is difficult for the public to have concrete data to assess the effectiveness of this reform.
President, as in other advanced economies, the healthcare system of Hong Kong is now facing a number of challenges, including the continued ageing of the population, the increasing number of diseases triggered by lifestyle, the serious shortage of doctors and the rising public expectations towards healthcare services. If the overall healthcare system is to continue to operate in a healthy manner, the Government must study the relevant reform proposals and optimize the regulatory regime of healthcare staff in response to the latest social development. Only in this way can we enhance the fairness, impartiality and transparency of MCHK and maintain public confidence in MCHK.
With these remarks, President, I support the original motion and the amendment.