SINGAPORE — Errant doctors who face disciplinary proceedings in future can be more assured that the sentences they receive are consistent and fair.

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) is in the midst of appointing a committee to develop sentencing guidelines for doctors, and hopes to set up the committee by the end of the year. It will be made up of representatives of the council as well as the legal profession.

The move comes after calls last year by a disciplinary tribunal for the SMC to provide guidance, based on previous cases and policy considerations, "so that medical practitioners may be aware of the severity of their misconduct".

For errant doctors who get suspended in future, disciplinary tribunals may no longer be fettered by a minimum suspension period of three months, if they deem a shorter suspension to be more appropriate. This proposal is part of changes to the Medical Registration Act that opened for public consultation on Friday (Sept 28).

The Act was last amended in 2010.

Under existing laws, doctors can be suspended for between three months and three years. But as far back as 2011, questions have been raised about the minimum suspension period.

In a 2011 case on a doctor's failure to obtain informed consent from a patient, the Court of Three Judges said it would have suspended colorectal surgeon Eu Kong Weng for a shorter period than three months, if it had the discretion to do so.

The following year, two lawyers argued in a commentary in the Singapore Medical Journal for the minimum suspension term to be abolished. They said it could remove a good doctor from practice for longer than necessary, among other consequences.

Suspension is a punishment less severe than de-registration, but more severe than a fine.

SPEEDIER INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS?

To boost efficiency and timeliness when complaints are lodged against doctors, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has proposed allowing a wider pool of people to chair complaints committees. Complaints committees — which are made up of two doctors and one lay person — investigate complaints lodged against doctors, and this process could take about nine months to two years.

They may decide to order a formal inquiry and refer the matter to a disciplinary tribunal, for which most cases conclude within two years. Nine to 10 per cent of complaints make it to a disciplinary tribunal.

Currently, 19 out of 25 SMC members may chair complaints committees. Under the proposal, doctors on the SMC's complaints panel may also be eligible to serve as complaints committee chairpersons. The complaints panel is made up of SMC members, about 100 other doctors and 50 lay persons.

The SMC has long faced criticism, including by the High Court, that it takes too long to probe complaints against doctors. The medical watchdog previously explained that it takes time to deal with the serious nature of many complaints.

• Last year, the SMC received 159 complaints against 204 doctors, a decrease from the 182 complaints against 242 doctors in 2016. There were nearly 14,000 doctors here as of end-2017.

• Complaints committees completed inquiries into 125 complaints last year, with 68 complaints dismissed, 12 doctors issued letters of warning, 23 issued letters of advice and 14 referred to a disciplinary tribunal. Two complaints were successfully mediated and six complaints were withdrawn, said the SMC in its latest annual report released this month.

• Complaints involved allegations of misdiagnosis, professional negligence or incompetence and unnecessary treatment, among others.

To improve transparency and accountability, the MOH is proposing that appeals against the decision of complaints committees be considered by an independent appeals committee instead of the Health Minister.

The appeals committee will comprise a doctor, a legal professional and a distinguished lay person drawn from a panel appointed by the Health Minister.

The public consultation paper with details of the proposed amendments can be found on www.reach.gov.sg and MOH's website. Feedback can be submitted to mra_public_consult [at] moh.gov.sg by 6pm on Oct 26.

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