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Written by: Zheng Cuibi
2021-05-18 22:21
Last update date: 2021-05-18 22:22
The Food and Health Bureau announced today (18th) a plan to relax the introduction of overseas doctors and will amend the Doctor Registration Ordinance. The new draft includes the establishment of a "special registration committee" and a list of no more than 100 medical schools.
However, a spokesperson for the Food and Health Bureau pointed out that the list of approved medical schools will be released as early as 2022.
When asked how many doctors are expected to be attracted to solve the problem of "doctor shortage", the Food and Health Bureau bluntly stated that it has no targets, but hopes to attract more doctors back to Hong Kong than the current policy.
A spokesperson for the Food and Health Bureau said that it is hoped that the draft amendments will be passed during the current term of the Legislative Council, and a "special registration committee" can be established thereafter. It is expected that a list of accredited institutions will be drawn up as early as 2022. It is the most optimistic estimate." When asked if the list will be released before the quarter when medical students graduate and apply for a job in that year, the spokesperson did not respond, which means that it is possible that from 2023, the new plan can be used to introduce overseas doctors.
The Food and Health Bureau has always emphasized that the purpose of the amendment is to attract more non-locally trained doctors to return to Hong Kong and solve the problem of shortage of manpower. However, when asked how many doctors the new plan could attract, the spokesperson again pointed out that he had not set a target. I just hope to attract more doctors than the current practice exam or limited registration.
▼Government amended regulations and exempted examinations to introduce overseas doctors to alleviate manpower shortage▼
Under the new draft, if overseas doctors do not have specialist qualifications, they can return to Hong Kong for specialist training. Regarding the issue of whether local doctors need to compete with overseas doctors for specialist training places in the future, the spokesperson said that they are discussing with the Hospital Authority and the Academy of Medicine Increase the number of training places, including how to solve the problem of manpower and resources, such as whether it is necessary to significantly introduce doctors with specialist qualifications to improve the ability to train non-specialist doctors.
The Government’s draft stipulates that qualified doctors must be permanent residents of Hong Kong. However, many members of the Legislative Council have requested that non-Hong Kong residents can also benefit from it. A spokesperson for the Food and Health Bureau said that only Hong Kong doctors are applicable this time. The Government’s position, but when asked whether the proposal was finalized, the spokesman said that while the draft is in the deliberation stage, the opinions of Members must also be considered.
In addition, the bureau pointed out that it intends to increase the number of medical students. On the other hand, the document submitted to the Legislative Council stated that "if more non-local trained doctors are registered in Hong Kong, the government may not need to increase the number of local medical training places to cope with the increasing The increased demand may help control the public expenditure required to train additional doctors." A spokesperson for the Food and Health Bureau responded that the content of the document is only a statement on public funds. Regarding the number of students, the bureau will still make recommendations to the Education Bureau based on factors such as future medical service needs.
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Overseas doctors︱The next step is to relax the practice of medicine for non-Hong Kong residents?
Institutional research and judgment depend on two factors
Overseas Doctors｜The 10-member Registration Committee of the List of Approved Institutions Developed Considering Language and International Ranking
Exemption from examinations to introduce overseas doctors to meet the 4 major conditions to serve public medical services for a minimum of 5 years
Overseas doctors from the Food and Health Bureau come to Hong Kong to practise doctors