Louis Shih Tai-cho, head of Hong Kong’s biggest doctors’ union throws in the towel, the latest casualty in the wrangling over the composition of city’s medical watchdog
ERNEST.KAO@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Sunday, 01 May, 2016, 2:05pm
Outgoing HKMA president Louis Shih Tai-cho Photo: SCMP
The head of the biggest doctors’ union in the city has stepped down citing “serious and irreparable” differences with fellow members over the contentious issue of the composition of the Medical Council, Hong Kong’s medical watchdog.
Medical Association (HKMA) president Dr Louis Shih Tai-cho made the sudden announcement late Saturday night, a week after proposing a referendum to reform the council’s composition to give more doctors a vote for the sake of greater transparency and professional autonomy.
Currently, half of the 28-member medical watchdog is comprised of government appointees, which include health officials and university representatives. The other 14 seats are split evenly between HKMA appointees and those directly elected by doctors.
Shih had recommended that all the seven seats held by the HKMA in the Medical Council also be opened up to direct voting by doctors. But Shih said his proposal had met with “fervent” opposition from his fellow members, notably vice-president Dr Alvin Chan Yee-shing and former president Dr Gabriel Choi-kin.
The serious and irreparable differences between myself and these opinions led me to the conclusion ... it is now time for me to step down
“It is with deep regret that I tender my resignation as your president of the Medical Association with immediate effect,” Shih wrote in an internal email to members.
“The serious and irreparable differences between myself and these opinions led me to the conclusion that for the sake of the unity of the [association] council, it is now time for me to step down.”
His abrupt resignation comes just two months ahead of the HKMA’s own internal elections. Shih had previously confirmed that he would not be seeking re-election.
Writing in his “message from the president” column in the HKMA newsletter last month, Shih had pitched a referendum in deciding how the Medical Council candidates from the HKMA should be elected in the upcoming council meeting.
Former HKMA president Dr Gabriel Choi-kin. Photo: David Wong
This latest development had come in the wake of an earlier proposal from the government to increase the ratio of government appointees in the council, sparking fury from across the industry that the council would be dominated by government supporters who would compromise its professional autonomy.
Some also feared the government would push the doctor’s licensing body to relax its examination for foreign or mainland doctors, thereby affecting health care standards. Critics have accused the Medical Council of wanting to keep a closed shop in the profession. It has also come under fire for a perceived lack of transparency and delays in investigating complaints.
When contacted, Dr Gabriel Choi Kin would not comment on Shih’s resignation but said an emergency meeting will be held on Sunday and a statement will be issued later.
Dr Ho Pak-leung, a former president of the Public Doctors’ Association, said he was sad to hear about Shih’s resignation but respected his decision.
Ho, who backed Shih’s plan to open up the association’s seven seats to allow “direct elections” among doctors, believed it was the right direction to promoting a more transparent council.
Shih, a dermatologist, was once ousted as a member from the Medical Council itself in 2011 after taking a hotly opposed stance on the recruitment of overseas doctors without a licensing examination.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1940306/medical-union-chief-quits-his-proposal-give
