A patient who wishes to make a complaint against a doctor must send a letter to the Singapore Medical Council (SMC). The complaint must be made within six years of the incident and must be accompanied by copies of relevant documents supporting the claims.

Once the complaint is received, it is investigated by a three-member complaints committee chaired by an SMC member, a doctor and a layperson. The committee's decisions are independent of the SMC.

The investigation can take between nine months to more than a year - sometimes longer - after which the patient is told of the decision in writing.

The complaint can then be dismissed, a mediation called for, or the doctor warned or counselled.

If the committee decides not to escalate the case, patients who are not satisfied with its decision can appeal to the Health Minister within 30 days of being notified. The minister's decision is final.

If the committee decides to escalate the case, the SMC will convene a disciplinary tribunal, which includes a judge, a judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court or a senior legally trained person.

The tribunal can impose a fine of up to $100,000 and a suspension lasting between three months and three years. The doctor may appeal against the tribunal's decision in the High Court.

Under the Medical Registration Act, an appeal against the decision of a disciplinary tribunal must be filed within 30 days.

The appeal, which can be made by either the doctor or the SMC, will be heard by the Court of Three Judges.

Despite the stipulated period, court procedure provides for an appeal to be filed after the time limit has elapsed.

This is by way of an application to the court to seek a time extension for the appeal to be filed.

Applicants have to explain to the court why the appeal was not filed on time. The court may not grant an extension if it is not convinced by the reasons.

In October 2012, aesthetic doctor Georgia Lee was cleared of professional misconduct after she was given a time extension to appeal against her December 2011 conviction.

Lawyers said another possible legal route is to seek a judicial review, asking the court to examine the tribunal's decision.

This was the procedure taken by Dr Susan Lim to challenge the decision of the SMC to convene a second disciplinary committee against her for overcharging a patient in 2007.

Last year, the authorities started looking into changes to the Medical Registration Act to speed up disciplinary proceedings against doctors and make the process more transparent.

These include measures to widen the pool of people qualified to assess complaints, and new guidelines to ensure consistency in the penalties meted out.