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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 (October 25):
Question:
The Medical Council of Hong Kong (the Medical Council) handles the registration, examination and disciplinary matters of medical practitioners in accordance with the Medical Registration Ordinance. Among the 28 council members of the Medical Council, half of them are appointed by the Chief Executive. Other professional bodies, such as The Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association, the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, The Hong Kong Institute of Architects, The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors and The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, are all independent of the Government and have the same basic function of handling registration, examination and disciplinary matters. Most, if not all, of their council members are elected on a one-member-one-vote basis. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the reasons for the Medical Council to have a statutory framework different from those of other professional bodies and for half of its council members being appointed by the Chief Executive; and
(b) of the number of staff members, remuneration, income and other expenses related to the following functions of the Medical Council in the past three years;
(i) registration of medical practitioners;
(ii) licensing examination;
(iii) handling complaints and conducting disciplinary inquiries about medical practitioners;
(iv) continuing professional development programme; and
(v) other administrative matters?
Reply
Madam President,
(a) The Medical Council of Hong Kong (the Medical Council) 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.
In the regulation of the medical professions, the Administration has subscribed to the principle of professional autonomy. The Medical Council enjoys independence in performing its aforesaid statutory functions. The Administration respects the independence of the Medical Council and would not interfere with the decisions that are within the autonomy of the profession. The historical development, background and specific needs of the different professional bodies all contribute to the different regulatory regimes and it is not appropriate to draw a direct comparison between the regulatory frameworks of different professional bodies. Generally speaking, all professionals recognise the principle of professional autonomy and a fair degree of lay participation in its regulatory matters.
The Ordinance currently provides that of the 28 members of the Medical Council, seven are to be nominated by the Hong Kong Medical Association and seven returned by the medical practitioners. The remainder of the members include two medical practitioners nominated by the University of Hong Kong, two medical practitioners nominated by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, two medical practitioners nominated by the Hospital Authority, two medical practitioners nominated by the Director of Health, two medical practitioners nominated by the Academy of Medicine and four lay members. These members are appointed by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food under the delegated authority of the Chief Executive. Such an arrangement ensures that different stakeholders in the medical sector can participate in the operation of the Medical Council and that their views are fully reflected in the Medical Council.
(b) Please refer to the Annex for the relevant information.
Ends/Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:40
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