Lawmaker Leung Ka-lau, who has been filibustering proposed amendments to the Medical Registration Ordinance, has proposed that the council be adjourned so that other bills can be processed at a Legislative Council meeting on Friday. Leung represents the medical constituency. He repeatedly called for headcounts to delay a vote on the bill at earlier meetings.
He said both pan-democrats and pro-establishment lawmakers should assess the situation and support his motion so that the council can take care of other bills.
Friday is the last day of meetings for the legislature, as Legislative Council elections will be held in September.
Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said in response to the motion that “even on the last day, we are working very hard to contact those doctor representatives and patients who are worried about the bill. We also hope that they can make suggestions that we can use, so that there is a system to ensure that doctors and patients’ representatives can patch up their relationships.”
He said that if the bill is passed, the government will set up a three-way platform for doctors, patient organisations, and lawmakers to talk and monitor the implementation of the bill.
As of 6pm on Friday, the Council was still debating Leung’s motion.
The Medical Council amendments were met with resistance from doctors who said that adding four lay members – members not from the medical field – would not be helpful to speeding up the complaints process, which the Medical Council oversees.
