I refer to the government’s proposal to introduce doctors who are not locally trained and assessed, with the aim of easing the medical services crunch in Hong Kong. Professor Sophia Chan Siu-Chee said Hong Kong has a shortage of doctors, causing long waiting times for certain public medical services. Undoubtedly, the public hospital system is currently overloaded , which may result in people not receiving timely and adequate treatment. But the government should in no way relax the standards. The quality of medical professionals is what I am most concerned about. Hong Kong is well known for its high-quality medical services. If the proposed policy is enacted, this quality could deteriorate. Becoming a doctor in Hong Kong requires enormous effort and time – graduates can engage in this field only if they excel academically and pass the local qualifying exam for becoming a doctor, which is highly demanding. They also need to undergo internship training before they really stand at the front lines. This ensures they have sufficient experience, knowledge and professional skills. However, due to the differences in education between Hong Kong and other regions, the quality of trainees can vary. If the non-locally-trained doctors were to be allowed to work in Hong Kong, they may not be able to provide the same quality of service due to the disparity in educational standards and training, despite receiving more practice in Hong Kong. In fact, there are numerous alternatives the government could focus on to tackle the shortage of medical professionals. For instance, shifting demand from public to private hospitals by providing Hongkongers with extra aid, improving the working conditions of doctors in public hospitals so that they do not switch to the private sector, increasing the number of local doctors by expanding educational resources, or launching campaigns to promote healthy living to decrease demand for medical services. There are more solutions to the aggravating situation in the medical system; officials should further study the issue instead of potentially sacrificing the quality of medical services. Ronald Chan, Hung Hom Hospital Authority must take a good look at itself first Perhaps the secretary for food and health and the Hospital Authority should ask themselves why doctors are leaving the public sector because of poor working conditions and why no one listens to these doctors. When feedback is sought from senior management, their attitude is defensive and nothing comes out of these exercises. There should be more placements for specialist positions, but this is ignored. The old-timers, the heads of different departments, play politics and resident doctors suffer. The doctors are unappreciated, while the heads sit in their ivory towers and pontificate. My apologies to the few who genuinely care. Clean up your own backyard before considering bringing in foreign doctors. It is sad to see dedicated doctors leave the public sector as they can no longer put up with a system that failed them. Charlotte Wu, Cyberport