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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (May 16):
Question:
With the relevant provisions in the Certification for Employee Benefits (Chinese Medicine) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2006 coming into operation on December 1 last year, sick leave certificates issued by registered Chinese medicine practitioners are recognised. On the other hand, sick leave certificates issued by chiropractors have all along not been recognised even though the Chiropractors Registration Ordinance was enacted as early as 1993. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the criteria adopted for determining the recognition of sick leave certificates issued by a certain medical profession and the authorities responsible for stipulating such criteria;
(b) given that the Employees' Compensation Ordinance specifies that medical expenses shall be payable by an employer for medical treatment given by medical professionals such as registered chiropractors etc. in respect of the injury sustained by his employees at work, implying approval of the treatment given by registered chiropractors, of the reasons why sick leave certificates issued by registered chiropractors are not recognised; and
(c) whether it will amend the legislation to recognise sick leave certificates issued by registered chiropractors; if it will, of the legislative timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
In considering whether to recognise the sick leave certificates issued by a certain medical profession, the Government needs to assess the state of the regulatory framework of the concerned medical profession, make reference to the views of the employees, employers and the general public, and consider relevant experiences in other places and the feasibility of the proposal. As the proposal of recognising the sick leave certificates issued by chiropractors involves labour laws, the Economic Development and Labour Bureau, together with concerned bureaux and departments, including the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau, the Civil Service Bureau, the Department of Health and the Labour Department, formed a Working Group in November 2005 to study the subject. Matters being considered by the Working Group include the efficacy of the regulatory framework of chiropractors, the relevance of the professional training of chiropractors in medical functions performed under labour laws, overseas experiences in recognising chiropractors under labour laws, community knowledge and acceptance of chiropractic practice, and any financial, economic and civil service implications.
At present, not all statutorily registered medical professions are recognised for issuing sick leave certificates under labour legislation. The provision in the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (ECO) permitting an injured employee to reimburse from his employer medical expenses for treatment of work injury by registered chiropractors was made in 1995. Of the legislative amendments made at that time, the kinds of reimbursable medical expenses incurred by injured employees were expanded to cover treatments given by physiotherapists, occupational therapists and chiropractors. The objective of the amendment was to expand the scope of reimbursable medical expenses for injured employees. It did not include the recognition of sick leave certificates issued by these different categories of medical professions. Reimbursement of medical expenses is only concerned with the treatment given by the medical profession, whereas the issue of sick leave certificates under labour legislation involves a further judgment by the concerned medical professional on whether the sickness of the employee is to such an extent that he needs to take a rest and is temporarily unfit for work. Hence, in considering whether sick leave certificates issued by chiropractors are to be recognised under labour legislation, further study needs to be made.
Hong Kong is the first place in Asia to register chiropractors statutorily. We have also noticed that there are significant variations in different countries in their recognition of chiropractors. Such variations in rules and practices are dependant on the circumstances of individual places, involving factors like cultural background and medical systems. The Government would carefully consider Hong Kong's actual circumstances and thoroughly study the feasibility and implications of the proposal. As the subject is still being studied by the Working Group, the Government has not made any decision at this stage on whether legislative amendments would be made. The Working Group is expected to complete the study by the end of this year and the Labour Advisory Board and the Manpower Panel of the Legislative Council would be consulted thereafter.
Ends/Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:31
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