In this file photo dated April 27, 2021, Hong Kong Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee holds a press conference at Central Government Offices. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG – A draft bill aimed at managing the acute shortage of doctors in the graying city will be tabled at the Legislative Council on June 2.
Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee told reporters on Tuesday that Hong Kong permanent residents who trained at overseas medical institutions recognized by the special administrative region government and already registered to practice outside the city, will be exempt from a licensing exam should they choose to join the city's public sector and undertake to work for at least five years after obtaining their specialist qualifications. After the five-year period, the doctors can obtain full registration in Hong Kong without the need to pass the city’s licensing exam and have the option of working in the private sector.
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By 2030, the city is expected to be short of 1,610 doctors, and as the population ages, the figure will rise to 1,949 by 2040, according to government estimates
A special committee will compile a list of overseas medical institutions deemed at par with the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Chan said, adding that maximum 100 such overseas institutions are expected to be on the list.
By 2030, the city is expected to be short of 1,610 doctors, and as the population ages, the figure will rise to 1,949 by 2040, according to government estimates.
Though the city’s two medical schools at HKU and CUHK together offer 530 first-year places in a phased increment since 2019, Chan said it wasn't enough for the city's immediate requirements.
Before 2000, about 55 percent of the city’s doctors were non-locally trained with the figure plummeting to 10.7 percent in the past decade.
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Currently, non-locally trained doctors, in order to be able to practice in Hong Kong, either need to pass a licensing exam and complete an internship or opt for the limited registration scheme which allows them to skip the licensing exam but keeps them tethered to the public sector.