LCQ9: Complaints against private hospitals
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Question:
In recent days, a member of the public fell victim to a medical incident while receiving treatment in a private hospital. His father subsequently pursued with the hospital regarding the responsibility for the incident, but was told that the hospital and its polyclinics would no longer provide any medical services for his family members in future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) the authorities received, in the past five years, complaints about private hospitals refusing to provide medical services for patients; if so, of the number of such cases;
(2) the existing legislation regulates private hospitals' refusal to provide medical services for patients; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) the authorities will consider establishing a dedicated department or organisation to handle complaints lodged by members of the public concerning the quality of the medical services of and the medical incidents in private hospitals; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(1) and (2) Under the Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes Registration Ordinance (Cap. 165), the Department of Health (DH) registers private hospitals subject to their conditions relating to accommodation, staffing and equipment. DH has also promulgated the Code of Practice for Private Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes (CoP) which sets out the regulatory standards and standards of good practice, with a view to enhancing patient safety and quality of service.
The CoP requires private hospitals to develop policies and procedures in different areas (such as admission policy for patients, patient care, patients' rights and complaints handling). All services are to be delivered without discrimination with respect to the age, sex, religion, ethnicity and disability of the patient. Private hospitals should ensure their services and facilities are appropriate to the needs of patients who are admitted to the hospitals.
On the other hand, private hospitals may determine the scope of services to be provided and the target users based on their mode of operation. Whether a patient will receive treatment in a particular private hospital or not depends on the professional judgment of the attending doctor and the choice of the patient. These do not fall under the ambit of Cap. 165 and the CoP.
DH has received seven complaint cases concerning failure to obtain services from private hospitals since 2012. In these cases, the private hospitals concerned were unable to provide to the complainants, or their family members, services that could meet their medical needs or expectations, and had advised them to approach other healthcare institutions for appropriate treatments. After investigation, there was no evidence of non-compliance with the requirements of the CoP by the hospitals concerned.
(3) The CoP requires private hospitals to have mechanism in place for handling complaints made by a patient or a person representing the patient. The mechanism should consist of procedures for receiving, investigating and responding to complaints, as well as a time frame to provide response to complainants. Private hospitals should have staff designated to handle complaints, and should display adequate notices inside the hospitals to inform patients of the channels for lodging complaints. Private hospitals are required to submit complaint digests to DH on a regular basis.
DH has also published in its website the channels for lodging complaints against registered healthcare institutions. Complaints on the services of these institutions can be lodged to DH through the published channels.
The Government has introduced the Private Healthcare Facilities Bill (the Bill) into the Legislative Council. The Bill provides for a new regulatory regime for private healthcare facilities (PHFs) to replace Cap. 165 and the Medical Clinics Ordinance (Cap. 343) currently in force. Among others, the Bill provides for a two-tier complaints management system to handle complaints against the PHFs to be regulated under the new regime. The first tier will be at the service delivery level where PHFs should manage complaints at source. The licensee of a PHF must put in place and implement a complaints handling mechanism as required. At the second tier, an independent Committee on Complaints against Private Healthcare Facilities (the Complaints Committee) will be established to look into complaints unresolved at service delivery level. The Bill will empower the Complaints Committee to investigate complaints, make recommendations to the Director of Health based on investigation findings, make recommendations to the PHFs concerned on improvement measures, and/or refer the complaints to relevant regulatory authorities for follow-up actions. The Complaints Committee may also advise the Director of Health on policies on complaints management. Insofar as the Complaints Committee is concerned, the Bill will set out its formation, functions and investigation powers.
Ends/Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Issued at HKT 12:10
Issued at HKT 12:10
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