Felice Lieh-Mak

Felice Lieh Mak
麥列菲菲
CBE, GBS, JP
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
9 October 1991 – 7 October 1992
Appointed by David Wilson
Personal details
Born (1941-08-10) 10 August 1941
The Philippines
Spouse(s) Gregory Wei-kei Mak
Children 3
Alma mater University of Santo Tomas
Occupation Professor of psychiatry

The Hon. Professor Felice Lieh–Mak, CBE, JP, FRCP, FRANZCP, Emeritus Professor at the University of Hong Kong (born 10 August 1941), is a Philippines-educated and British-trained Hong Kong physician, psychiatrist, academician, editor, and retired civil servant.

She graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and undertook specialty training in London, joining the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1978. She was a member of Hong Kong's Legislative and Executive Councils; served as Chairwoman of the Medical Council and of the English Schools Foundation (until her resignation from the latter in March 2011 for personal reasons, including the arrival of her first grandchild); as President of the World Psychiatric Association; and as an Advisor to the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.

Education

  • University of Santo Thomas, MD (cum laude), 1964, Medicine, Philippines
  • Licentiate of Apothecaries LAH, 1967 Medicine Hall, Dublin, Ireland

Notable appointments

  • 1966–67: Senior House Officer (Psychiatry), Littlemore Hospital, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
  • 1968–69: Medical Officer in Psychiatry, Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong
  • 1970–70: Senior House Officer, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford University
  • 1971–78: Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  • 1974–74: Honorary Registrar, Park Hospital for Children, Oxford University
  • 1974–74: Honorary Registrar, Warneford Hospital, Oxford University
  • 1978–81: Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  • 1981–83: Reader, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  • 1990–94: President, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists
  • 1992–97: Member, Executive Council, Governor's Cabinet, Hong Kong
  • 1993–98: Chairman, Kowloon Regional Advisory Committee of the Hospital Authority
  • 1993–96: President, World Psychiatric Association
  • 1994–96: Chief Examiner, Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists
  • 1994–97: Chairman, Kwai Chung Hospital Governing Committee
  • 1996–99: Chairman, Education Foundation, World Psychiatric Association

Notable affiliations

  • 1979–present: Consultant, University Health Service, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  • 1980–present: Consultant (Psychiatry), Hong Kong Government
  • 1983–present: Professor and Head, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong (HKU)
  • 1983–present: Honorary Advisor, Hong Kong Mental Health Association
  • 1987–present: Member, Editorial Board, Journal of the Hong Kong Medical Association
  • 1991–present: Member, International Editorial Board, Journal of Stress and Depression
  • 1994–present: Corresponding Editor, British Journal of Psychiatry
  • 1994–present: Consultant, World Health Organization (WHO)
  • 1994–present: Member, Editorial Board of the Hong Kong Medical Association
  • 1996–present: Member, Editorial Board, Current Opinion in Psychiatry
  • 1997–1999: Chairman, Hong Kong Medical Council
  • 1997–present: Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics
  • 1998–present: Chairman, Task Force on Review of Psychiatric Services
  • 1998–present: Member, Steering Committee on Healthcare Financing of the Hong Kong Government
  • 1998–2001: President, Asian Union Against Depression and Related Disorders
  • 1999–present: Chairman of Queen Mary Hospital's Planning Committee
  • 1999–present: Member, Working Group on Quality Assurance, Medical Council of Hong Kong
  • 1999–present: Member, Global Forum for Health Research of the WHO/World Bank Mental Health Reform Initiative

Notable honours/fellowships

Notable patients

Leslie Cheung

Felice Lieh-Mak was the psychiatrist of Leslie Cheung, one of the most famous pop music icons in Asia. Leslie Cheung suffered from severe depression and sought treatment from Professor Lieh-Mak for almost a year. Despite her treatment effort Leslie Cheung finally killed himself by leaping off from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, located in the Central district of Hong Kong Island, citing depression as the cause.[1] As one of the most popular performers in Asia, Cheung's death broke the hearts of millions of his fans across Asia and shocked the Asian entertainment industry and Chinese community worldwide.

Cheung's suicide note (translation):

"Depression! Many thanks to all my friends. Many thanks to Professor Felice Lieh-Mak (麥列菲菲). This year has been so tough. I can't stand it anymore. Many thanks to Mr. Tong. Many thanks to my family. Many thanks to Sister Fei (沈殿霞). In my life I have done nothing bad. Why does it have to be like this?"

Despite the high profile of the patient, no comment has been given by Prof. Lieh-Mak on this incident. Questions still remain to be answered include:

  1. What kind of treatment had Leslie Cheung been receiving ?
  2. Was the treatment up to standard?
  3. Was Prof. Lieh-Mak aware of his suicidal ideation before the incident? And if so did she take any measure to prevent it from happening?

The questions are important as they include factors that may contribute to psychiatric malpractice:[2]

  1. inadequate suicide risk assessment
  2. failure to develop or implement a treatment plan that protects the patient from harm
  3. insufficient documentation of suicide assessments, and
  4. clinical decision making

Controversies

Felice Lieh-Mak was involved in a case of failure to take proper steps to ensure complete removal of medical equipment which allegedly resulted in suicide of one of her patients after suffering from years of unbearable pain.[3] The incident involved leaving behind a 2 mm long broken needle in the facial region of the patient. When confronted by the patient, Prof. Lieh-Mak maintained that the needle used in the electroconvulsive therapy, a common procedure practised in psychiatry, was put in and removed by a technician and that she had no responsibility for the mishap.[3] This is in contradiction to one of her most controversial verdicts as Chairperson of the Medical Council Inquiry. On 9 May 2018 a doctor was found guilty of medical misconduct for failing to supervise his fellow nursing staff to perform standard tracheostomy care even though the doctor was not involved in the procedure, nor was he aware of that particular procedure which allegedly led to the patient's death. [4]

References

  1. ↑ "Actor Leslie Cheung 'found dead'". 2003-04-01. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  2. ↑ Melonas, Jacqueline M. (2011-3). "Patients at Risk for Suicide". Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience. 8 (3): 45–49. ISSN 2158-8333. PMC 3074199. PMID 21487546. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. 1 2 "斷針留面頰婦自殺". Apple Daily 蘋果日報. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
  4. ↑ "Doctor handed six-month ban over death of elderly cancer patient". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
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