LettersTwo years for an ECG? High time Hong Kong let in foreign-trained doctors

Allowing doctors from the world’s top 50 medical schools to be eligible for conditional registration in Hong Kong is the best solution: this will safeguard quality while easing the shortage of talent

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Published: 5:00pm, 6 May 2019Updated: 6:50pm, 6 May 2019

Hong Kong’s medical system is badly flawed. I experienced the gravity of the problems in public hospitals when I recently accompanied my wife to treat her injured knee.

First, I was able to experience at first hand the dire shortage of doctors in the public health care system. The admission process for my wife was tortuous – it took nearly six hours before she was admitted to her ward. The long wait spoke loud and clear that the shortage of doctors is acute. Recently I had chest pains and intended to see a specialist in a public hospital. Then I was told to wait 28 months for an electrocardiogram.

Secondly, the Medical Council of Hong Kong is inclined to hegemonise the medical profession. Before 1997, doctors from all over the Commonwealth could practise here. Then this practice was abolished. Many people are against allowing non-local doctors to practise in Hong Kong, fearing substandard practitioners from the mainland. In my view, this fear is unfounded. What we really need is a vigorous vetting system.

Thirdly, there is clearly an urgent need to lower restrictions for qualified non-local doctors. Recently, Our Hong Kong Foundation recommended that doctors who have qualified from the world’s top 50 medical schools be eligible for conditional registration in Hong Kong. This is the best solution: while the quality can be safeguarded, the shortage of talent can also be alleviated.

Meanwhile, the government should allow non-local doctors who have served a minimum period in a public medical institution to be promoted from conditional registration to full registration. This would attract qualified non-local doctors to come to Hong Kong.