Retention not the problem behind Hong Kong’s doctor shortage, Hospital Authority figure says
- Dr Deacons Yeung dismisses concerns a new registration path for non-locally trained doctors will create a battle for jobs in the sector
- Internal medicine, emergency medicine, paediatrics and family medicine specialities, in particular, need as many applicants as possible
Efforts to retain doctors in Hong Kong’s public health system have been effective in slowing departure rates, a senior hospital official has said, rejecting concerns that a proposal racing its way to legislative reality will lead to competition for jobs between local and foreign-trained doctors.
Hospital Authority cluster services director Dr Deacons Yeung Tai-kong’s defence of the new registration pathway for doctors trained overseas came just days after the authority’s former chairman, Dr Leong Che-hung, argued the government should be focusing instead on stopping the public health care system from “bleeding” manpower.
Have we been ineffective [in keeping doctors]? I don’t think so. In the past five years, we have seen an increase of 700 doctors
The Medical Registration Ordinance amendment, which will be debated in the legislature on Wednesday, has also sparked criticism from others in the sector who believe opening the door wider to outsiders should be a last resort.
But Yeung defended the manpower retention measures being taken by public hospitals, saying they were doing a better job of keeping doctors, even though the overall number remained too few to meet the huge demand created by an ageing population.
“Have we been ineffective [in keeping doctors]? I don’t think so. In the past five years, we have seen an increase of 700 doctors,” Yeung said.
He said the authority had been adopting measures such as offering greater promotion opportunities and introducing flexible working hours for doctors.