This file photo dated Sept 5, 2017 shows healthcare professionals at Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. (PHOTO / HKSAR GOVERNMENT)
HONG KONG –Non-locally trained doctors who will practice in Hong Kong through a new scheme will still need to register under the Medical Council and be subject to its disciplinary regulation like other local doctors, according to the Hong Kong government.
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In a statement issued late Tuesday in response to unfounded online remarks on the proposed Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2021, a government spokesman said it respects the Medical Council's statutory function to regulate doctors, and therefore had proposed to establish, under the Medical Council, the Special Registration Committee which will determine the list of recognized medical qualifications.
The committee will comprise four representatives from the Medical Council, including its chairman, among others.
The government reiterated that the amendment of the ordinance is not intended to abolish the current licensing examination system, but to create a new pathway for qualified non-locally trained doctors to practise in the public healthcare sector of Hong Kong
The spokesman said the new scheme aims to attract overseas-trained Hong Kong permanent residents to return to Hong Kong and serve in the public healthcare sector, but not just those from the mainland.
Citing the practices of other countries such as Australia and Singapore, the government reiterated that licensing examination is not the only way to assess the quality of doctors.
It explained that the current registration system is ineffective and has cused the number of non-locally trained doctors to drop significantly.
"Before September 1996, non-locally trained doctors were an important source of the doctor supply. After that, all non-locally trained doctors are required to pass the Licensing Examination administered by the Medical Council of Hong Kong (Medical Council) and complete a specified period of assessment before they can be registered with full registration for practising in Hong Kong," the spokesman said.
"As a result, the proportion of newly registered doctors with non-local medical qualifications dropped significantly from an average of 56 percent for the five years between 1992 and 1996 to an average of 13 percent for the five years between 2015 and 2019," added the spokesman.
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The government reiterated that the amendment of the ordinance is not intended to abolish the current licensing examination system, but "to create a new pathway for qualified non-locally trained doctors to practise in the public healthcare sector of Hong Kong on the premise of ensuring the quality of doctors, according to the statement.
The government plans to submit the bill to the Legislative Council for deliberation on June 2.