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Following is a question by the Hon Ambrose Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Health and Welfare, Dr E K Yeoh, in the Legislative Council today (March 29):

Question :

Regarding the various boards of professions established under section 5 of the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Cap. 359), will the Government inform this Council :

(a) of the respective numbers of members of such boards who are registered practitioners of the relevant professions and their percentages in the total membership, and of the boards whose chairmen are members of the relevant professions; and

(b) whether it will implement a policy to ensure that the chairmen and the majority of members of such boards are drawn from the relevant professionals; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that, as well as the measures in place to prevent a situation in which professionals are led by non-professionals?

Answer :

Madam President,

The primary objective of the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Cap. 359) is to promote adequate standards of professional practice and conduct among members of the respective professions. The ultimate aim is to protect the public through a system of registration and discipline of persons engaged in occupations and professions supplementary to medicine. A Supplementary Medical Professions Council and five professional Boards are established under the Ordinance. Each Board is responsible for regulating the respective profession. The Council coordinates and oversees the activities of the five Boards. Under Section 5 of the Ordinance, the respective chairman of the five professional Boards shall be appointed from among the members of the Supplementary Medical Professions Council but the person shall not be the member appointed in his capacity as a member of any of the five professions regulated under the Ordinance. At present, none of the current Board chairmen is a member of the relevant profession.

In the five professional Boards, the percentages of members drawn from the relevant profession are tabulated below :-

Board     Total no.     No. of       % of members 

          of members    members      who come from

          including     from the     the

          chairman)     relevant     relevant

                        profession   profession





Medical         10          7             70%

Laboratory

Technologists 

Board      



Physiotherapists  10       8              80%

Board 



Occupational     9         7              77%

Therapists 

Board 



Optometrists    10         7              70%

Board 



Radiographers   11         9              82%

Board

As described above, a majority of the Board members are drawn from the respective professions. Professional views are fully taken into account in the Boards' deliberations and, where necessary, the Boards will further consult the profession before taking major decisions.

The present composition of the boards ensures a balance of input from members of the respective professions and from members of other backgrounds. We consider that the current system is working well to achieve the objective of the Ordinance, and that there is no need to introduce changes to the Board structure.

END/Wednesday, March 29, 2000

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