Feedback on Doctor's Professionalism

The SMA Complaints Committee

The Singapore Medical Association (SMA) is a professional body. The SMA Complaints Committee handles complaints concerning doctors registered in Singapore with the statutory body, Singapore Medical Council.

The SMA Complaints Committee recommends to our SMA Council appropriate actions which may include:

To facilitate understanding by providing appropriate information gathered from various sources
To provide a professional perspective
To mediate a solution by suggesting options that could lead to amicable settlement
To communicate to the complainant that the case is outside the Committee's purview with suggestion to bring it up with other authorities, if appropriate
To give advice on acceptable practice matters and/or ethical issues to the doctor
To request doctor to give undertaking not to repeat unacceptable and/or unethical practice or behaviour.
To recommend to the SMA Council that a formal complaint to SMC or to other external authorities be lodged
To communicate trends to the Secretary, SMC

The following cases are outside of the Complaints Committee's purview:

fees/charges disputes
cosmetic/ aesthetic treatments
police reports have been made or cases which are the subject of court proceedings
the doctors or complainants have confirmed that legal proceedings are being instituted
medical ethics and professional issues are not involved
cases that have been taken up by the press
cases that have been sent to the Ministry of Health (MOH) or Singapore Medical Council (SMC)

We are unable to help with the following:

We cannot help you to write the complaint.
We cannot help you to claim for compensation.
We cannot order a medical practitioner to provide the medical treatment you want.
We cannot order a medical practitioner to give you access to the records.
We cannot make a medical practitioner apologise to you in any manner.

File A Complaint?

We regret that we do not handle complaints which are out of our purview (see below). We also do not handle complaints over the telephone. Please write in according to our procedure.

The Committee needs to meet to consider the cases. While we endeavour to expedite the processing of letters received, the whole process may take 3 to 6 months before you will receive a final reply from us.

In submitting the complaint to the SMA, the complainant is aware that the SMA is a professional body and not a statutory body and therefore has no legal authority to conduct formal enquiries, to subpoena witnesses or documents and to discipline doctors, etc.

Find Out Limitation On Complaints