Understanding your duty to report obligations

It is important for doctors to understand that their professional obligations extend beyond the sphere of clinical practice. This article highlights doctors’ obligations to notify the Medical Council of Hong Kong of their conviction of offences punishable with imprisonment within 28 days of the conviction, with case studies illustrating how medical defence organizations may provide assistance.

Section H of the Medical Council of Hong Kong’s Code of Professional Conduct relates to criminal convictions and disciplinary proceedings.

Paragraph 27.1 of the Code states that a doctor who is convicted of any offence punishable with imprisonment is liable to disciplinary proceedings, even if he/she is not sentenced to imprisonment. Such a conviction would invoke the Medical Council’s disciplinary proceedings.

Some offences are viewed as being more serious by the Medical Council. These include offences involving dishonesty, indecent behaviour, violence, or those which may affect a doctor’s fitness to practise, such as drug-related offences.

A doctor who has been convicted with an offence punishable with imprisonment (either within Hong Kong or outside) has a duty to report this to the Medical Council within 28 days from the time of conviction. According to paragraph 29.1 of the Code, failure to do so would “in itself” be grounds for disciplinary action.

The following are two recent examples of where Medical Protection assisted members with their duty to report obligations under the Code.

Case study 1
Dr X, a medical officer working at a public hospital, was involved in an accident while driving, which led to him being charged with an offence of careless driving at the Magistrates’ Court. He pled guilty and was issued with a fine. This came to the attention of the Medical Council of Hong Kong when it was declared on his Annual Practising Certificate.

Dr X was not aware of his obligation to notify the Medical Council of his conviction within 28 days. Dr X received a ‘PIC Notice’ (letter from the Preliminary Investigation Committee of the Medical Council) informing him that an investigation was started into whether he was guilty of misconduct in professional respect for: a) being convicted of the careless driving offence, and b) failing to report this conviction to the Medical Council within 28 days.

Dr X contacted Medical Protection for advice, and was assisted by the case manager and legal team in Hong Kong in drafting a response to the Medical Council. The Medical Council decided not to continue with the investigation, but did issue a letter of advice to Dr X stating that should he fail to observe paragraph 29.1 of the Code again, the matter would be treated more seriously.

Case study 2
Dr Y, a general practitioner from another public hospital, was charged with a driving offence. She pled guilty and received a fine. She was aware of the obligation to notify the Medical Council of such a conviction within 28 days and approached Medical Protection for support and advice on this notification.

The case manager instructed a legal team to assist Dr Y with drafting a notification to the Medical Council, informing them of the conviction. Six months later, Dr Y received a notice from the Medical Council informing her that an investigation would be started in relation to the offence. Medical Protection assisted Dr Y with drafting submissions for the investigation, and the case was dismissed with no further action.