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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (January 24):
Question:
It has been reported that the Medical Council of Hong Kong (HKMC) decided, in September last year, to lodge an appeal against the High Court's judgment on the illegality of restrictions against practice promotion. However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) refused to provide assistance to HKMC on the grounds that the appeal had little chance of being allowed. It has also been reported that HKMC is not able to raise funds from the public because of legal restrictions. As a result, it lacks the funding for lodging an appeal on its own. Although DOJ eventually decided to assist HKMC in lodging an appeal, some doctors have relayed to me that this incident reveals that HKMC lacks total independence and the autonomy of the medical profession is being challenged. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to conduct a comprehensive review on the functions, composition and structure of HKMC, and amend the relevant provisions in the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161); if it has, of the timetable and direction of the review; and whether it will consult all the doctors in Hong Kong on the review; if it will, when the consultation will be conducted; if it will not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Medical Council of Hong Kong (HKMC) is an independent statutory body established under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161). It is empowered to register medical practitioners, conduct licensing examinations, and exercise disciplinary actions over medical practitioners in Hong Kong. HKMC operates independently and is not subject to the supervision of the Administration. HKMC has also stated that it is an independent body enjoying full autonomy in performing its statutory functions. The Administration respects the independence of HKMC and will not interfere with the decisions that are within the scope of professional autonomy. The role of the Administration is confined to providing HKMC with the necessary support in terms of manpower for its Secretariat, finance, legal services and routine administration.
At present, the Administration has no plans to review the functions, composition and structure of HKMC. Nevertheless, if it is the wish of the medical sector to restructure HKMC and to let HKMC take over the Secretariat work, its financial matters and liabilities in relation to legal mattes, the Administration will be pleased to consider the idea. However, any restructuring proposals must meet the main purpose of a regulatory regime for medical practitioners, i.e. to ensure the professional standards of medical practitioners and to safeguard the health of the general public. Nowadays, with the access to professional information and knowledge, our citizens have expectations for a medical profession that is of higher transparency, skilful, ethical and updated in knowledge. Following the citizens' expectations, the current Code of Practice of the Medical Council needs to be regularly updated to safeguard the ethical standard and integrity of our medical profession. Besides, lay participation is indispensable in terms of matters regarding professional conduct, doctor-patient relationship and the handling of complaints. Experience from advanced countries shows that a greater degree of lay participation will be the way forward.
Ends/Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:06
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