'Voice of Medical Council lay members also important'

A medical school dean said on Monday that a proposal to increase the number of lay members to the Medical Council strikes a good balance and increases diversity of the statutory body.

Under a reform to the Medical Registration Ordinance, the government is proposing three additional lay persons to the council, on top of eight existing lay members.

The number of doctors stays unchanged at 24.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, Lau Chak-sing, the dean of the University of Hong Kong's medical school said that lay members also play a role in training doctors.

"For example, nurses and therapists, we hope to listen to their views on how they should work with doctors, and how to take care of patients," he said.

"I think there should be participation from members from both inside and outside the medical practice."

As part of the same revamp, the government proposed allowing non-permanent residents to practise in Hong Kong without passing the local licensing exam.

In the past, only SAR permanent residents who obtained training overseas could skip the exam.

Lau said there is a need for the city to boost the supply of doctors. Asked how many is considered enough, the professor said that depends on the quality of public healthcare the government is aiming to provide.

"For instance, the time for medical consultations is often not too sufficient at outpatient clinics. If we hope to improve on this, even if the number of patients does not increase, we still need (more) doctors."

He agreed, however, priority should be given to locals regarding training opportunities.

Speaking on the same show, Alex Lam, who chairs the advocacy group Hong Kong Patients' Voices, noted doctors convicted of misconduct in the future may no longer be entitled to a probation sentence.

He said this was often the case when doctors pleaded guilty at a disciplinary hearing, but now they could have their licences suspended instead.

Edited by Raymond Yeung ...