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Letters | If Singapore can do it, why not Hong Kong? Act before doctor shortage gets worse
- Multiple entry barriers for foreign doctors reek of blatant protectionism
- The government cannot be a bystander. It should take the initiative to drive change before public discontent boils over
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Why you can trust SCMP
To address the serious shortage of doctors in Hong Kong, the government should take steps to increase the supply of medical practitioners locally and attract many more from overseas. Instead, the government appears to have condoned the Medical Council’s conflict-of-interest stance on allowing doctors qualified overseas to practise in Hong Kong. No wonder the council is dragging its feet.
Failing to consider the ground realities could have dire consequences. We have only 1.9 doctors per 1,000 residents, well below Singapore’s 2.4. The ratio would be worse if patients from the mainland were included. The extra workload due to the shortage has been driving government doctors to the higher-paid private sector, which only serves 10 per cent of all patients admitted to hospital. Public hospital doctors have a heavy caseload; In 2017-18, a record 314 of them left the government system.
The steady exodus of experienced doctors, in particular specialists, will result in longer waiting periods for patients. Public tolerance is reaching its limit.
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Patients who cannot wait will turn to the private sector, inflating fees. The Aon Medical Trend Report predicts that private medical costs in Hong Kong will increase to 8.3 per cent from 6.2 per cent last year, almost four times the general inflation rate.
Soon, only the rich, and employees with generous insurance cover, would be able to afford private sector medical fees. The rest will have no choice but to turn to public services, aggravating the problem.
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The inflated medical costs and their skewed distribution are channelling people’s income into the pockets of private doctors and hospitals. The money could be better used elsewhere.
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