5,000 herbalists fail assessments

Two-thirds of more than 7,500 Chinese medicine practitioners must sit qualifying examinations to continue practising, regulators said yesterday.

But the 5,134 practitioners who failed to meet new assessment criteria will be able to practise until the secretary for health, welfare and food sets a deadline for them to pass the exams, Director of Health Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun said.

The Chinese Medicine Council yesterday announced the first batch of 2,543 practitioners who are eligible for direct registration after they passed an assessment of their qualifications.

A further 2,515 practitioners will undergo a clinical assessment from December to February, while 2,619 will have to sit the licensing examinations, set for the middle of next year.

Dr Chan defended the reprieve as striking a balance between expectations and the need to protect public health.

'For over 150 years, traditional Chinese medicine was not regulated in Hong Kong and we realise that we have to make allowances for the historical reasons and also at the same time it is our duty to protect public health and to ensure that the consumers of these products and services are protected,' Dr Chan said.

The registered practitioners also would be required to earn continuing education points to renew their practising certificates every three years, she said.