Hong Kong’s ombudsman will launch an investigation into the support offered by health authorities to professional bodies for tackling complaints, following allegations of a 15-year delay in the handling of an inquiry into a blunder that left a child disabled for life.

The Office of the Ombudsman said on Wednesday that the investigation would look into the procedures and mechanisms employed by the secretariat under the Department of Health’s Boards and Councils Office for handling complaints related to alleged blunders and the registration of professionals.

The office provides administrative support to 15 healthcare-related statutory bodies, including the Medical Council, the Dental Council and the Nursing Council, among others.

“I have decided to launch a full investigation … to identify areas for improvement and to put forward appropriate recommendations,” Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi said.

He said that complaint information showed the administrative support offered by the department to those boards and councils might involve “significant delays and therefore be ineffective”.

“We are also deeply concerned about the recent media reports alleging an unexplained significant delay of 15 years by the secretariat of the Medical Council of Hong Kong under the Department of Health in handling a serious healthcare incident,” he said, referring to the case concerning paediatrician Dr Sit Sou-chi.