Debated in Parliament on 13 May 2013.
Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Health (a) how are members of the Complaints Committees and Disciplinary Tribunals in the Singapore Medical Council appointed; (b) on what basis and credentials are they appointed; and (c) what kind of training is provided to appointed members to ensure that the proceedings are conducted professionally and efficiently.
Section 38 of the Medical Registration Act provides for the formation of a Complaints Panel from which members of the Complaints Committees and Disciplinary Tribunals are drawn. The Complaints Panel is headed by a Chairman, Assoc Prof Chen Fun Gee, and comprises 166 members. These members, in turn, comprise (a) 16 members from the Singapore Medical Council (SMC), (b) 100 registered medical practitioners of at least 10 years' standing who are not SMC members, and (c) 50 lay persons nominated by the Minister.
The registered medical practitioners in the Complaints Panel are drawn from a list of nominees submitted by medical professional bodies, and public and private hospitals based on their professional standing in the medical community. Lay persons are drawn from professional bodies, for example, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Board of Architects, Professional Engineers Board, Singapore Association of Social Workers, the Singapore Pharmacy Council, the Singapore Nursing Board and the Law Society of Singapore, and from academics nominated by our Universities.
To look into complaints against medical practitioners, the Chairman of the Complaints Panel appoints a Complaints Committee of three persons from the Complaints Panel comprising a Council member as Chairman, a registered medical practitioner and a lay person as members of the Committee.
Where a formal inquiry is determined to be necessary by the Complaints Committee, a Disciplinary Tribunal is appointed by the Medical Council. Neither the Chairman nor members of the Disciplinary Tribunal would have been in the Complaints Committee looking into the case. The Chairman of the Tribunal is drawn from a select panel appointed by the Minister consisting of senior medical practitioners of not less than 20 years' standing, past Judges or Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court, advocates or solicitors of not less than 15 years' standing, or officers in the Singapore Legal Service with an aggregate of not less than 15 years of full-time employment in the Singapore Legal Service. Most of the medical members of this select panel are also members of the Complaints Panel. The other members of the Tribunal are drawn from the Complaints Panel. In certain cases where it is necessary to appoint a Legal Service Officer (LSO) as a member of the Disciplinary Tribunal, the Medical Council may choose a legal officer from the select panel appointed by the Minister.
The members of the Complaints Panel and medical members of the select panel appointed by the Minister attend training sessions on the complaints and disciplinary processes which are conducted by SMC's panel of legal assessors who are senior lawyers. If requested by the Complaints Committees, a legal assessor can be appointed to advise the committee should they require guidance regarding any questions of law. If the Tribunal does not have a lawyer as its chair or as one of its members, a Legal Assessor is appointed to assist the Disciplinary Tribunal.
PAPERCUTS