HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 11 January 1989
香港立法局
一九八九年一月十一日
43
an amendment to the Ordinance was required in respect of the relationship between the council and the boards.
In the light of the position taken by the Supplementary Medical Professions Council, I have now put before Members the same Bill which was considered by this Council during its 1987-88 Session and which lapsed at the end of that Session. Since no change is being proposed to the relationship between the Supplementary Medical Professions Council and the para-medical boards, we have not consulted the boards.
The major amendments proposed in this Bill are mainly enabling provisions.
Clause 6 introduces a new section 15A to provide the boards with the power to hold examinations for the purpose of full registration as well as provisional registration under the relevant provisions of the principal Ordinance. The new section 15B provides that a person may appeal to the council against any decision of a board other than a decision in relation to registration, discipline, provisional registration and examination.
Clause 8 deals with Codes of Practice for the para-medical professions. It empowers the boards to provide for guidelines regulating the activities of persons supervising registered persons and the activities of those who are being supervised, in the Codes of Practice prepared by the boards. It also requires the boards to notify the Supplementary Medical Professions Council of the Codes of Practice drawn up or any subsequent revisions made to them.
Clause 9 enables regulations to be made, creating categories of registered persons according to their qualifications, training and experience, prescribing the qualifications and experience necessary for practising a profession without supervision, specifying who would be entitled to practise without supervision, and restricting those without the prescribed qualifications from doing so. The Ordinance, as it stands, enables persons with qualifications and experience additional to those required to qualify for registration to "practise on their own account". Since that phrase implies control of the mode of business, rather than the need and adequacy of professional supervision, it is proposed to replace "practise on their own account" with "practise without supervision" to reflect the real intention of the law. This clause also contains amendments for regulations to be made enabling the boards to determine the quality of the experience acceptable to the boards and to accept experience other than the prescribed experience.
Clause 10 requires para-medical professionals working in approved teaching institutions, subvented organizations or the Civil Service to be registered, rather