XN000022-1995-07-19 — Page 96

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Views on Consultation Paper on Legal Services to be assessed

The Administration will evaluate all the responses from the community on the Consultation Paper on Legal Services after its consultation period is completed by the end of this month and will then decide whether any changes in respect of legal services are needed, the Attorney General, the Hon Jeremy Mathews, said in the Legislation Council today (Wednesday).

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Replying to a question raised by the Hon Jimmy McGregor, Mr Mathews said only after that decision was made would the Administration know whether legislation was needed.

"I hope however that, if it is needed, the legislation will be introduced some time in 1996," he said.

End/Wednesday, July 19, 1995

Criminal liability for deaths arising from HAIs

Following is a question by Dr the Hon Samuel Wong Ping-wai and a reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

It is learnt that the Government is proposing to make the Authorised Persons in charge of a construction project criminally responsible, over and above their present professional liability, for deaths arising from lapses in safety on construction sites, which total about 75 deaths per year, representing a risk probability of about 0.125% per construction manual worker. Figures released recently by the infection control unit of the Queen Mary Hospital indicate that lapses in safety or hygiene in hospitals have resulted in about 8% of patients contracting a hospital-acquired infection which may lead to several thousand deaths per year. As the safety risk of hospital patients dying from hospital-acquired infections is several times higher than that of construction workers dying from construction site accidents, will the Government inform this Council whether consideration will also be given to making the doctor in charge criminally responsible for deaths arising from hospital-acquired infections, over and above their present professional liability; if not, why is professional liability regarded as sufficient in the medical profession and not in the much less risky field of the construction profession?