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In response to legislator Mr Tommy Cheung's withdrawal of his Member's Bill to amend the Medical Registration Ordinance, a spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said today (December 10):
"In response to the challenges of an ageing population and increasing demand for healthcare services with higher expectations, the Government has set up a steering committee chaired by the Secretary for Food and Health to conduct a strategic review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development in Hong Kong. The review looks into the composition of the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) and will have regard to the prevalent international practices which gear towards more openness and greater public participation, and the local circumstances of Hong Kong, including public aspirations and concerns as well as the history and development of the MCHK as a self-regulation professional body.
The review is expected to be completed in the first half of 2016. The initial findings have already identified a need to increase the number of lay members in the MCHK to keep pace with international developments in the regulation of the medical profession. In the meantime, pending the completion of the review and in advance of the implementation of the full recommendations of the review, to address public concern and the criticism of the court arising from a recent judicial review case, the Government already has plans to introduce a bill, as a matter of urgency, in the first quarter of 2016 to, among other things, increase the number of lay members in the MCHK to enhance its efficiency in handling public complaints and conducting disciplinary inquiries, which will cover Mr Cheung's proposal to the same effect."
Ends/Thursday, December 10, 2015
Issued at HKT 18:52
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