'Hard to dictate timing on complaints handling'

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau on Sunday said it would be unrealistic to impose a time limit on the Medical Council in handling complaints, but that certain procedures could be streamlined. The government aims to submit a bill on the council’s reform to the Legislative Council in the first half of this year. Speaking on a TVB programme, Lo said he hopes the reform could resolve the Medical Council’s governance and administrative issues in one go. The health minister said the council needs to strike a balance between the complainants and the respondents. But a deadline could be imposed on some of the procedures, Lo added. “For example, if they agree, could we set a time limit for expert witnesses to submit a report? It could be one, two or even three months instead of endless waiting. “Also, there should be a deadline for scheduling a hearing, and panel members could not constantly say they are unavailable.” Lo said relevant deadlines could be set by the Medical Council itself, as council members are serving on a voluntary basis and busy with their own work. Meanwhile, he said the fee reforms at public hospitals have lowered the chances of emergency room resources being abused and wasted. He said overall visits to the accident and emergency departments dropped by more than 10 percent two months after the reforms took effect. Edited by Edmond Fong