Consultation on medical staff certification to be launched

The government is launching a public consultation on the legal regime governing the healthcare professionals’ certification and qualifications scheme this coming September, the head of the Health Bureau (SSM) told a press conference on Friday.
Lei Chin Ion was speaking following a Medical Affairs Committee meeting at which members voiced their opinions against the launch of a public consultation, as they believe that such a consultation will delay the entire legislative process.
“Some do not agree with this public consultation, but we would like to have a piece of legislation passed that is based on general public consensus,” said Mr Lei.
Furthermore, he stressed that the healthcare sector has not yet reached a broad consensus on the regime.
He added that the public consultation will be conducted over one month, so as to accelerate the subsequent legislative process. Mr Lei said the government cannot currently provide a schedule for completing and submitting the final draft, but they will try to accelerate the process.
The legal regime regulating healthcare professionals’ certification and qualifications is also critical to ensuring that the medical malpractice bill is finally voted on in detail at the Legislative Assembly.
The bill, which passed its first reading back in 2013, contemplates an insurance scheme for healthcare professionals in case of malpractice. However, the insurance scheme can only be put forward when the legislation for healthcare practitioners’ certification gets the green light.
The members of the Medical Affairs Committee also discussed on Friday the findings of a report based on opinions on the medical practitioners’ legal regime.
The report is based on a total of 1,977 questionnaires filled in by different healthcare professionals within the sector, namely doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, between March and April.
An average of 60 percent of those surveyed agree with the legal regime’s content, namely that it will be applied to 15 healthcare professional groups. The accreditation of healthcare professionals implies the launch of a qualification examination and an internship; a healthcare professional will be certified through a registration process, which will then have to be renewed.
Some committee members recalled the need to recruit specialized professionals abroad to train and share knowledge with local practitioners. They suggested that the recruitment of foreign specialists cannot be “too limited.”
Lei Chin Ion revealed that the government may implement a special salary scheme for these professionals, similar to that applied at the University of Macau. They intend to attract more talent from overseas, given that local supply is not currently enough to meet demand.
“We are pondering applying a special salary to invite experts to work here,” said Mr Lei.
According to the head of the Health Bureau, the government will be hiring 24 specialist doctors this year, but the special salary scheme will not be applied to them yet, as the government is still discussing the measure.