LC:Medical and Health Care (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2000

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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Health and Welfare,Dr E K Yeoh, in moving the second reading of the Medical and Health Care (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2000 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Madam President,

I move the Second Reading of the Medical and Health Care (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2000. The Bill seeks to make improvements to seven Ordinances related to medical and health care services, namely,

(a) The Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Chapter 138),

(b) The Medical Registration Ordinance (Chapter 161),

(d) The Nurses Registration Ordinance (Chapter 164),

(e) The Radiation Ordinance (Chapter 303),

(f) The Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Chapter 359), and

(g) The Chiropractors Registration Ordinance (Chapter 428)

These Ordinances provide for the establishment of regulatory schemes to control the handling and trading of pharmaceutical products, irradiating apparatus and radioactive substances, and to regulate the practice of different health care professionals through a system of registration and discipline.

We propose to improve the Ordinances by removing some out-dated provisions, streamlining the operation of the regulatory bodies, clarifying some existing ambiguities in the Ordinances and rectifying some minor textual errors. The consistency among the relevant ordinances will also be enhanced. Some of the more significant amendments are:-

(a) Amending the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance to provide that regulations made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary for Health and Welfare and the negative, instead of positive, vetting by this Council;

(b) Amending the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance and the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance so that the Hong Kong Branch of British Medical Association will no longer be required to nominate a member each to the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the five Boards prescribed under the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance;

(c) Amending the Nurses Registration Ordinance to provide that the result of an election of members to the Nursing Council of Hong Kong may be questioned by an election petition and to authorize the Council to make regulations in relation to the election petition;

(d) Amending the Radiation Ordinance to enable the Radiation Board to transact its business by circulation of papers;

(e) Amending the Chiropractors Registration Ordinance to provide that rules made by the Chiropractors Council shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary for Health and Welfare, in addition to the negative vetting of the rules by this Council; and

(f) Amending the Chiropractors Registration Ordinance to provide that a registered chiropractor applying for the issue of or renewal of a practising certificate shall provide information as to whether he/she has been convicted of a criminal offence or found guilty of professional misconduct.

Madam President, the amendments proposed in the Bill are necessary for improving the operation of the regulatory schemes concerned. I commend the Bill to Members for their favourable consideration.

Thank you, Madam President.

End/Wednesday, January 19, 2000

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