Overseas doctor recruitment row intensifies as hospital consultants and Hong Kong health minister call on Medical Council to explain why it rejected the proposals
- Public Hospital Consultant Association, which represents about 190 senior doctors, expresses ‘extreme regret’ over rejection of proposals
- Health minister Sophia Chan says consensus had been reached on plan to scrap internships for overseas doctors and expresses disappointment Medical Council scuppered the idea
A row caused by Hong Kong’s medical watchdog rejecting proposals to relieve a chronic doctor shortage escalated on Friday as public hospital consultants united with the city’s health minister to demand an explanation.
In a statement on Friday, the Public Hospital Consultant Association, which represents about 190 senior doctors, expressed “extreme regret” over the rejection.
The association urged council members who opposed the proposals to “take the initiative to explain their rationale in public”.
“The council’s decision ignored the well-being of patients and the needs of public health care. It was different from the general view in the sector and it pitched the interest of doctors against citizens,” the statement read, adding the council needed to review its decision and make voting records public.
Hours earlier, Secretary for Food and Health Professor Sophia Chan Siu-chee wrote on her blog that the rejection came despite her reaching an agreement with major industry representatives that an internship requirement for doctors recruited from overseas should be relaxed.
