Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ12: Complaints about veterinary services
Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary
for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February
27):
Question:
Regarding veterinary surgeons and their services, will the Government inform
this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the reasons why only 30 to 50 complaints were
received by the Veterinary Surgeons Board (VSB) in each of the past five years;
if it has, whether such reasons include the public being generally unaware of
the channels for lodging complaints about veterinary services; if so, whether
the Government will consider stepping up the publicity for VSB's function in
dealing with complaints;
(b) of the number of veterinary surgeons convicted in the past five years of
contravening the Veterinary Surgeons Registration Ordinance (Cap.529), with a
breakdown by offences and penalties imposed on them;
(c) of the authority currently responsible for dealing with complaints about
unlicensed veterinary services; in the past five years, the number of such
complaints received by the authority, the number of substantiated cases, and the
penalties imposed on the persons concerned; and
(d) whether it knows the number of cases heard by various levels of courts in
each of the past five years in which civil remedies against veterinary surgeons
were sought, as well as the respective numbers of successful cases among them?
Reply:
Madam President,
The Veterinary Surgeons Board (VSB) is a statutory body established under the
Veterinary Surgeons Registration Ordinance (the Ordinance) (Cap.529) for the
regulation of the practice of veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong, including the
registration of veterinary surgeons and the disciplinary control of the
professional activities of registered veterinary surgeons. Our reply to the four
parts of the question is as follows:
(a) In the past five years, the VSB received a total of 237 complaints related
to veterinary services, i.e. an average of 48 complaints a year.
According to the information provided by the VSB, majority of the complaints
received were submitted direct to the VSB by members of the public, with a few
referred by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the Consumer
Council. It shows that members of the public have a good understanding about
VSB's role as an avenue of complaint about veterinary services. When compared to
the relevant number of complaints received by the statutory bodies governing
other medical professions, the number of complaints against veterinary surgeons
is relatively lower. This is mainly because there are comparatively less
registered veterinary surgeons than other medical professionals. At present,
there are a total of 411 registered veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong.
To publicise the functions of the VSB, the VSB has put up a dedicated website
where information about how to make a complaint about veterinary services is
available. Enquiries about the work and related services of the VSB can also be
made through the 1823 Citizen's Easy Link.
In addition, disciplinary inquiries against registered veterinary surgeons are
held in public. If veterinary surgeons are found to have committed a
disciplinary offence, outcome of the inquiries will be published in newspapers
and the Gazette.
(b) In the past five years, a total of 10 registered veterinary surgeons were
found to have contravened the Ordinance. Details of the contraventions and
penalties are set out at Annex I.
(c) Section 16 of the Ordinance prohibits any person to practise when not
registered or not in possession of a valid practising certificate. Upon receipt
of complaints on illegal veterinary practice, the VSB will refer them to the
Police. In the past five years, the VSB has referred a total of 14 complaints to
the Police.
Of these cases, two persons were prosecuted. One was sentenced to 160 hours of
community service by the court whereas the other was acquitted. As for the other
12 cases, investigation revealed that no illegal provision of veterinary
services was involved.
(d) The Judiciary does not maintain any statistics on the number of cases heard
by various levels of courts in which civil remedies against veterinary surgeons
were sought, nor the respective numbers of cases held in favour of the
complainant.
Ends/Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:01
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