“For example, they agreed to send ophthalmologists to us. We all know the waiting time at ophthalmology departments is very long, especially for macular degeneration injections.”
But Fan did not disclose how long medical staff would work in the city and what other areas they specialised in.
The bay area is an initiative by Beijing to combine nine cities in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macau into an economic powerhouse.
Hong Kong, mainland China to launch pilot scheme to make data sharing easier
Hong Kong, mainland China to launch pilot scheme to make data sharing easier
The first batch of healthcare professionals – 10 doctors, 70 nurses and three Chinese medicine experts – from Guangdong arrived in Hong Kong in April.
Fan said the process had been smooth and both patients and fellow peers had commended their performance.
He added that doctors, nurses and Chinese medicine practitioners from Hong Kong would also participate in the exchange programme in mainland China for “less than a year”, with more details to be announced soon.
Fan said they had sent 160 offers to non-locally trained doctors to work in Hong Kong and 120 had accepted it.
He said the doctors mostly came from the United Kingdom and Australia, while the others were from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Malaysia, India, Taiwan and South Africa, among others.
Doctors recruited abroad for Hong Kong’s hospitals mostly junior level
Doctors recruited abroad for Hong Kong’s hospitals mostly junior level
“There are 97 non-locally trained doctors working in the Hospital Authority,” Fan said. “Before launching the scheme, the number of such doctors was lower than 50 in recent years.
“The growth rate this time is relatively higher and we expect the number will grow next year as we hope all 160 [non-locally trained] doctors will come and serve the public in Hong Kong.”
Another 25 doctors from other regions had joined the Global Healthcare Talent Scheme launched in June, including one from Malaysia who arrived in the city last month, Fan said. More participants from areas such as the UK and Macau are expected to come next year.
Fan also announced the establishment of the Hospital Authority Global Healthcare Professional Recruitment Centre. It will oversee recruitment and exchange programmes for non-locally trained healthcare professionals.
First non-local doctors hired overseas to start working in Hong Kong this month
First non-local doctors hired overseas to start working in Hong Kong this month
He said the centre could help the authority reach out directly to more professionals and students who were interested in working in Hong Kong and provide one-stop services.
“Right now, we mostly arrange recruitment through institutions such as Guangdong’s Health Commission and universities in the UK,” Fan said. “In the future, we will reach out to more who are interested by promoting the centre’s website.”
Fan added the authority was “optimistic” about its manpower situation.
He said that retired staff could be rehired under a scheme, and their numbers would be excluded from now on when calculating the attrition rate.
Under the new method, the attrition rate for doctors as of October was 5.3 per cent, compared with 6 per cent in late July. The rate for nurses as of October was 9 per cent, compared with 9.5 per cent in late July.
In the past 12 months, 339 doctors had left and 603 were hired, while 2,428 nurses departed and 2,697 were hired.