In November, the Medical Protection Society released the following statement regarding MPS indemnity and representation for Chief Medical Executives (CMEs) appointed under the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance:

“We have had a number of enquiries from members asking if they can purchase professional indemnity for their role as a CME. Having reviewed the terms of the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance, the sanctions for non-compliance could potentially be:

• Fines: As these are punitive measures, these are outside our standard scope of membership and are usually uninsurable.
• Referral to the regulator: There is the potential for a member to be referred to the regulator for a breach of duty as a CME. This is something you would be able to seek assistance with under the standard terms of your MPS membership.
• Vicarious liability: We do not believe the CME could be found vicariously liable for clinical negligence within the practice. This would still fall to the individual clinicians involved and/or the employer.”

The Society’s statement can be found in full at:

Medical Protection Society Limited. “Chief medical executive – new role in Hong Kong”. 13 November 2019. https://www.medicalprotection.org/hongkong/casebook-resources/medicolegal-articles/articles/chief-medical-executive-new-role-in-hong-kong