Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ10: Manpower of health care personnel of the HA

        Following is a question by the Hon Dr Law Chi-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr Yeoh Eng-kiong, in the Legislative Council today (June 30):

 

Question:

 

        Regarding the health care personnel of the Hospital Authority (HA), will the Government inform this Council of:

 

(a)    the number of medical practitioners and nursing staff who left the service in each of the past three years and their reasons for leaving, broken down by rank;

 

(b)    the number of medical practitioners employed by HA for specialist training in the past three years; the year in which the six-year training duration for specialists was adopted; the organisation responsible for specialist training before such practice was implemented, as well as the roles of the Government and HA in this respect; and whether a review on the policy of specialist training will be conducted; and

 

(c)    the total number of trainees employed by HA for the development of the family medicine sector in the past three years; and apart from the training of family doctors, the measures in place to establish a system of family medicine to enable private practice by trainees upon the completion of their training?

 

Reply:

 

Madam President,

 

(a)    The statistics for the turnover of doctors and nurses in the HA in each of the past three years are shown in the table below -

 

Post                       2001/02      2002/03   2003/04

Doctors

Consultant                      2           10         25

Senior Medical Officer/

Associate Consultant             23           23        50

Medical Officer/Resident         80           91        177

Total                         105         124         252

 

Nurses

Nursing Officers & above         80           63        236

Registered Nurse                159          120       407

Enrolled Nurse                   77          67        219

Total                          316         250        862

 

        The staff's reasons for departure are wide-ranging, which include resignation, completion of contract, normal and voluntary early retirement, and dismissal.

 

(b)    The HA appointed 284, 282 and 263 doctors for specialist training in various clinical specialties including Family Medicine in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 respectively. 

 

        The requirements for specialist training in various clinical specialties, including the six year training period, was set by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM) in 1993, one year after its establishment under the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Ordinance (Cap 419) in 1992.  

 

        The Government has all along been responsible for the overall manpower planning of medical and health care professionals in Hong Kong and interacts with the universities, the HA (after its establishment in 1991) and the private sector in this regard.  Before the establishment of HKAM, local doctors who wished to become a specialist had to acquire their professional qualifications from overseas professional bodies.  The former Medical and Health Department recruited, in accordance with the needs identified in the manpower planning process, the appropriate number of doctors for training in various medical specialties in public hospitals.  Specialist trainees who met the relevant training requirements were sponsored by the Department to sit in the professional examinations organised by overseas professional bodies.  After its establishment in 1991, the HA recruits doctors for training in various medical specialties.  In doing so, the HA works closely with the Government, HKAM and its Colleges in determining the number of new Residents to be admitted for specialist training, taking into account the projected specialist requirements of the HA, the projected supply of specialists in the light of the number of trainees completing training, the turnover rates, HA's plan on service development, the training capacities in HA hospitals and the applicants' suitability for specialist training.  In accordance with government policy, the HA has also undertaken to provide training for doctors in family medicine for the community. 

 

        Since the establishment of the HKAM, the system of specialist training in Hong Kong has been working effectively.  There is no plan at present to review the policy of specialist training.

 

(c)    The HA appointed 92, 103 and 81 doctors for training in family medicine in 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05 respectively. 

 

        Apart from the training of family doctors, HA has adopted the following measures to promote the practice of family medicine in Hong Kong -

 

(i) organising regular career planning sessions for family medicine trainees (e.g. inviting private practitioners, doctors' associations and other medical institutions to share with them the employment opportunities available in the community);

 

(ii) listing of private practice openings on the HA Website;

 

(iii) introducing a community practice module taught by experienced private family medicine specialists in the four-year family medicine training programme;

 

(iv) employing on contract basis some of the family doctors who have completed the basic training and passed the intermediate examinations to work in HA's general outpatient clinics to enrich their clinical experience and prepare them for private practice upon completion of training;

 

(v) facilitating collaborations between family doctors and elderly homes through the geriatric outreach teams and the Visiting Medical Officer Scheme; and

 

(vi) co-operating with relevant Colleges of the HKAM to provide training positions for community paediatricians, physicians and gynaecologists.        

 

Ends/Wednesday, June 30, 2004

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