Hong Kong welfare chief says shortage of doctors is hurting children with special educational needs in city, as he backs controversial overseas hiring bill
- Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong says children waiting more than six months to be assessed because of shortage
- Plan could let thousands of children be seen sooner and get help quicker, Law says
Hong Kong’s welfare minister has thrown his weight behind the controversial plan to ease admission rules for non-locally trained doctors, saying the move could help reduce the waiting time for assessment of children with special educational needs.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said only about 65 per cent of the new cases received in 2020 could have their assessments completed in six months. This was compared to 83 per cent in 2014. The set target was to have 90 per cent of new cases completed within that time period.
In a post on the Labour and Welfare Bureau’s Facebook page, Law said he was pleased with the plan for creating a new pathway for locals who studied medicine overseas to return to work in the city.
He pointed to the fact that the child assessment service had a vacancy rate of about 40 per cent, or needed about 10 more specialist doctors. Operated by the Department of Health, the service provides specialised assessments for children under the age of 12 with developmental-behavioural problems.
There were about 10,000 new referrals to the assessment service annually in recent years.