Hong Kong plans to allow doctors who are not permanent residents to work as specialists
- The proposal by health authorities follows complaints that previous draft amendments were ‘too strict’ and may not attract enough doctors, health minister says
- Other changes include internships for permanent resident graduates of foreign medical schools and opportunities for doctors working under limited registration scheme
Hong Kong health authorities have proposed further relaxing a hiring scheme aimed at tackling the city’s shortage of doctors, opening the door for non-permanent residents – including from mainland China – to practise as specialists without taking a local licensing exam.
The concession, along with two other changes, were announced by Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee on Tuesday. They were made to address concerns of lawmakers examining a bill amending the Medical Registration Ordinance in the hopes it could be passed before the end of the current legislative session in October, she said.
“Some have said the previous draft amendments were too strict and wouldn’t be able to achieve the goal of attracting more foreign-trained doctors,” Chan told a press conference, referring to any doctor trained outside Hong Kong. “The suggestions to further relax the rules will hopefully attract more specialist doctors, as there is a large demand for them and wait times are currently very long.”
But just how many would be willing to come was difficult to estimate at this point, she admitted.
Under the original proposed amendments only permanent residents who had graduated from a recognised medical school and were already registered to practise outside Hong Kong would be allowed to skip the local licensing exam.