We have been shocked and saddened by the tragic fire at Wang Fuk Court, and we appreciate how difficult this time must be for members both professionally and personally. Our thoughts are with you, and we want to reassure you that we are here to help should you need support.

During this tragic period, we know that members will be carrying an immense burden to provide the best possible care to those affected. Your profound commitment to saving lives, often at great personal sacrifice, is greatly respected and we would like to thank you for your extraordinary courage, compassion, and resilience.

We have been receiving some queries in relation to indemnity arrangements during this time. We therefore wanted to set out some core information as well as details of how we can support members with their wellbeing.

Supporting you to practise during this time

You may be working in very challenging circumstances and our priority is to ensure that we provide the support, advice and guidance you might need in order to be able to care for your patients during this time.

We understand that in this situation, you may be asked to perform a duty outside your normal area of expertise. If this is the case, our advice is to assess whether you feel competent to proceed. If you have any concerns, you should advise the person who has asked you to do so, explain to them, and, if possible, record these concerns.

We also appreciate that you may be required to temporarily relocate and work outside of your normal jurisdiction. If so, we ask that you contact us and let us know as soon as you are able to.

A message to our retired and deferred members

Medical Protection will at no cost provide professional indemnity protection to non-practising or retired doctors in Hong Kong in response to the tragic fire incident at Wang Fuk Court. We will do so for recently retired doctors who are former MPS members that have remained in the Medical Council registry and who wish to support the victims and their families through voluntary medical care.

The support we would provide includes issues that may arise as a result of work during this period such as inquests, complaints and disciplinary matters. This support falls outside of protection against the financial consequences of clinical negligence claim,  which we suggest that you check with your practising facility.

We are here to support doctors and to ensure they can solely focus on treating their patients during this difficult time. If you are a former Medical Protection member returning to work under these circumstances, please contact Medical Protection Hong Kong office before returning to practice.

We hope that the details set out here will help you during this difficult time. We will continue to monitor the situation, and are only a phone call away if you need our help.

Supporting your wellbeing

We would also like to remind you that you can access our free and confidential counselling service - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – which is available to members if you are experiencing any work-related stress or stress you feel is impacting on your practice. Our counselling service is provided through a third-party partner and is completely confidential. See our webpage on Counselling service for doctors and healthcare practitioners for more information.

Contact us

Please do contact us if you have any questions via our dedicated email address [email protected].

You can also contact our helpline for medicolegal advice on +800 908 433, or our Hong Kong colleagues using the following numbers: