Section 40
Appointment of Complaints Committees
of Medical Registration Act 1997
(1)
The chairman of the Complaints Panel may appoint one or more committees (called for the purposes of this Act Complaints Committees), each comprising —
a chairman, being a member of the Complaints Panel who is a member of the Medical Council;
a registered medical practitioner who is a member of the Complaints Panel; and
a lay person who is a member of the Complaints Panel,to inquire into any complaint or information mentioned in section 39(1).
(2)
A Complaints Committee may be appointed in connection with one or more matters or for such fixed period of time as the chairman of the Complaints Panel may think fit.
(3)
The chairman of the Complaints Panel may at any time revoke the appointment of any Complaints Committee or may remove any member of a Complaints Committee or fill any vacancy in a Complaints Committee.
(4)
No act done by or under the authority of a Complaints Committee is invalid in consequence of any defect that is subsequently discovered in the appointment or qualification of the members or any of them.
(5)
All the members of a Complaints Committee must be present to constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Complaints Committee and any resolution or decision in writing signed by all the members of a Complaints Committee is as valid and effectual as if it had been made or reached at a meeting of the Complaints Committee where all its members were present.
(6)
A Complaints Committee may meet for the purposes of its inquiry, adjourn and otherwise regulate the conduct of its inquiry as its members may think fit.
(7)
The chairman of a Complaints Committee may at any time summon a meeting of the Complaints Committee.
(8)
All members of a Complaints Committee present at any meeting thereof must vote on any question arising at the meeting and such question is to be determined by a majority of votes and, in the case of an equality of votes, the chairman has a casting vote.
(9)
A member of a Complaints Committee, even though he has ceased to be a member of the Complaints Panel on the expiry of his term of office, is deemed to be a member of the Complaints Panel until such time as the Complaints Committee has completed its work.