Medical complaints 'need time to resolve due to complexity'

Cheng Wong

The Medical Council handled more than 8,700 complaints over the past five years, with each case taking an average of 27 months to follow up, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said.

Many cases, he said, are complex, making it difficult to set a fixed "deadline" for resolution, with three cases taking more than a decade to process.

In a Legislative Council meeting yesterday focused on the council, Lo said the handling of complaints is one of its key functions.

He added that since the amendment of the Medical Registration Ordinance in 2018, the council's efficiency has significantly improved.

It received between 500 and over 3,000 complaints annually in the past five years.

Lo revealed that in 98 percent of the 8,700 complaints filed, disciplinary procedures were completed within four years.

Cases that required longer processing times typically involved complex issues such as reviewing medical records and obtaining expert reports.

About 7,000 cases were dismissed by preliminary investigation committees as frivolous or lacking sufficient information.

Of the rest, about 1,500 were resolved without a formal inquiry, three were referred to the council's health committee over doctor's physical and mental condition, and only 221 required disciplinary inquiries.

Despite the average processing time currently being 27 months, Lo cited the similarity of council hearings to court trials for the delays, with seven cases taking seven to eight years and three more than 10 years to resolve.

He said the administration would continue to review the council's operations and implement reforms to meet expectations.

Lo was speaking as two private hospitals reported three incidents of incorrect prescription drugs in the final quarter.

Two cases occurred at St Paul's Hospital and the other at Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital.

A 40-year-old man was injected with an incorrect dose of opioids in one case, with the other two seeing a 36-year-old man receiving an incorrect dose of oral chemotherapy and a 33-year-old woman with allergies given an oral medication containing paracetamol.

The health department's Office for Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities said incorrect prescriptions could potentially cause severe harm or even death.