Mary Ann Benitez and Kinling Lo
Monday, November 16, 2015
The Hong Kong Medical Association has hit out at Liberal Party lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan for being "rude" in not consulting them before introducing a private member's bill seeking to raise the number of lay members in the Medical Council.
The bill to amend the Medical Registration Ordinance from Cheung, who represents the catering sector, will be discussed at today's meeting of the Legislative Council health services panel.
He is looking to double the number of lay members in the council to eight.
Cheung said he is not proposing the bill to benefit his elder daughter and son-in-law who are both surgeons in the United States.
"Those who claim I am doing this for personal reasons are indeed the ones who fear intervention in their personal interest, as more overseas doctors would potentially lead to less earnings for private doctors," Cheung said yesterday.
But Medical Association president Louis Shih Tai-cho said the professional autonomy of doctors should be respected.
"The Medical Association is open to changing the composition of the Medical Council. Increasing lay persons can actually help the everyday job of the Medical Council, especially during inquiries when doctors are being complained about," he said.
But he said Cheung should have consulted the association first. "It is suddenly being brought up in Legco and we're not informed, and I'm not being invited to the Legco to talk about it. I think this shouldn't be handled in such a rude manner," Shih said.
He added the association is "strongly opposed" to relaxing the examination requirements for all overseas-educated doctors.
Ten years ago, the Working Group on Reform of the Medical Council submitted its report recommending an increase in lay members and having a retired judge as council chairman, Shih said.
But the Food and Health Bureau eventually rejected the report.
Cheung's move was prompted by a ruling in the High Court for the council to review a complaint against a pediatrician accused of causing a finger of a 14-month-old infant to be amputated in 2009.
Meanwhile, five doctors will compete for two Medical Council seats next month.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=4&art_id=163202&sid=45580479&con_type=1&d_str=20151116&fc=1
