The Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation (THRF) yesterday said that the Ministry of Health and Welfare failed to follow through on a “physician sex offenders search platform” that it promised in May would be up within a month.
News about National Taiwan University Hospital obstetrician and gynecologist (OB-GYN) Cheng Wen-fang (鄭文芳), for whom an arrest warrant was issued when he failed to appear in court after being released on bail for alleged sexual assault, has shocked society and sparked strong public outrage, the foundation wrote on Facebook on Friday.
“A system that shields its faults is a breeding ground for evil,” the THRF said, sharing a post that listed several OB-GYN physicians who were investigated for sexual assault or harassment over the past few years.
Photo: CNA
The OB-GYN medical association, which is responsible for training obstetricians and gynecologists, has remained silent on these cases, it added.
The ministry had promised that it would set up a “physician sex offenders search platform” within a month, but it has not made any progress, the THRF said.
“Faced with the medical association’s dereliction of duty and authorities’ passiveness, society wants to continue asking: How long do we have to wait until this cover-up is truly brought to an end?” it wrote.
THRF secretary-general Lin Ya-hui (林雅惠) yesterday said that Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) had failed to deliver on his promise in January to discuss the issue in three months, and the ministry promised the legislature that it would come up with a plan in a month, but no concrete results have been seen.
The incidents involving physicians committing sexual offenses have severely damaged patients’ trust in physicians, she said, adding that the OB-GYN medical association’s silence reflects a “cover-up culture.”
Only by upholding medical ethics and taking responsibility can it prevent “a few bad apples from spoiling the whole bunch,” Lin said.
Setting up a physician sex offenders search platform can protect people’s right to know and their safety, so the ministry should deliver on its promise and set it up as soon as possible, Lin added.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) yesterday said that establishing the platform would need a legal basis, so the ministry is still evaluating what laws can be used and whether the names of other healthcare professionals who committed sex offenses should also be made public.
A physicians disciplinary committee meeting was held last week, where participants discussed how to bolster communications between local social affairs departments and the health department to prevent delayed processes, she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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