Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ9: Non-locally trained doctors practising in Hong Kong

Following is a question by the Hon Tommy Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (January 20):

Question:

Recently, some members of the public have sought my assistance, saying that their children are studying medical programmes in Ireland and Australia, and that as places for internship training in such countries are in short supply in recent years, the relevant authorities cannot guarantee internship arrangements for international students. Given that the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) has stipulated that medical graduates applying for taking its Licensing Examination must have obtained qualifications acceptable to MCHK and completed recognised medical training, including a period of internship training as approved by MCHK, these members of the public are worried that their children will be disallowed to take the Licensing Examination for the reason of not having completed the internship training period. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has liaised with the consuls of advanced countries in Hong Kong and related agencies to find out if it has become a common practice in the countries concerned not to guarantee internship training arrangements for international medical graduates; if it has liaised with them and found that it is the case, whether it has assessed the impacts of such a practice on those Hong Kong people currently studying medical programmes abroad, and its long-term impact on the supply of medical practitioners in Hong Kong; if it has not made such liaison or assessment, whether it will do so;

(2) of the number of Hong Kong people who had graduated from overseas medical programmes passing MCHK's Licensing Examination in each of the past five years;

(3) whether it has discussed with MCHK about allowing medical graduates who graduated from recognised overseas medical programmes but have not completed internship training there, to take MCHK's Licensing Examination and to complete the internship training in Hong Kong afterwards, for registration as medical practitioners; if such an arrangement will be implemented, of the implementation date; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) whether the Steering Committee on Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development has studied the formulation of measures to encourage Hong Kong people who graduated from recognised overseas medical programmes to return to and practise in Hong Kong; if the Committee has, of the details of the study; if not, whether the Committee will conduct such a study?

Reply:

President,

The Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) is an independent statutory body established under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161). It is responsible for handling matters relating to the registration and disciplinary regulations of medical practitioners in Hong Kong. One of the main functions of MCHK is to administer and conduct the Licensing Examination for non-locally trained doctors.

According to the Medical Registration Ordinance, except medical graduates of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), all persons who wish to register as medical practitioners in Hong Kong, regardless of whether they have obtained qualifications to practise as a medical practitioner outside Hong Kong, are required to sit the Licensing Examination of MCHK and complete the internship assessment in Hong Kong. They have to fulfil the conditions set out in the Medical Registration Ordinance before taking the Licensing Examination.

My reply to the four parts of the question raised by the Hon Tommy Cheung is as follows:

(1) The content and arrangements of medical programmes offered by non-local medical schools, including whether the provision of internship for international students is guaranteed, are determined by individual institutions in accordance with their local regulations and having regard to their local circumstances. The Food and Health Bureau will keep in view the issue that some non-local medical schools do not guarantee the provision of internship training for international students, including Hong Kong students. Depending on the circumstances, we will seek to understand the matter further through appropriate channels when necessary. As it is difficult to predict whether Hong Kong students studying medical programmes abroad will seek to practise in Hong Kong, we cannot assess the precise impact of such arrangement by some non-local medical schools on the supply of doctors in Hong Kong. The Government will continue to closely monitor the doctor manpower in Hong Kong and strive to ensure sufficient supply of doctors in our healthcare system to cope with demand.

(2) When applying for the Licensing Examination, an applicant is not required to provide his/her nationality or declare whether he/she is a Hong Kong permanent resident. As such, MCHK does not have the number of Hong Kong permanent residents who passed the Licensing Examination. The number of persons who passed the Licensing Examination in the past five years is listed as follows:

Year     Number of persons who passed the
             Licensing Examination

2011     21
2012     47
2013     46
2014     74
2015     40

(3) The Licensing Examination of MCHK aims to ensure that those who wish to register as medical practitioners in Hong Kong after receiving medical training elsewhere have attained a professional standard comparable to that of local medical graduates, so as to maintain the quality of our medical services and safeguard public health.

In accordance with section 7A of the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161), applicants for the Licensing Examination of MCHK must have satisfactorily completed not less than five years of full-time medical training at the time of application, including a period of internship as approved by MCHK. Applicants who have not received internship training are not eligible to take the Licensing Examination.

(4) To facilitate the sustainable development of our healthcare system, the Government is conducting a strategic review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development (the review). It is expected that the review will be completed in mid-2016. The Government will implement the recommendations in phases, with an aim to meeting the future demand for healthcare manpower and keeping the regulatory regimes for healthcare professions in pace with the times.

The public is most concerned about proposals related to doctors to which we will accord first priority. The Government plans to introduce a bill into the Legislative Council in the first quarter of 2016 to amend the Medical Registration Ordinance, which will cover, among other things, the Hon Tommy Cheung's proposed Member's Bill to add four lay members in MCHK, improve its complaint investigation and disciplinary inquiry mechanism, and enhance its administrative flexibility in admitting non-locally trained doctors to meet local demand.

To encourage more non-locally trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong, the Government is proactively looking into providing more flexibility to the relevant mechanism by extending the valid period of limited registration from not more than one year to not more than three years, so that the public organisations concerned (including Hospital Authority, Department of Health, HKU and CUHK) can recruit doctors from abroad more effectively.

Furthermore, MCHK has introduced improvement measures to facilitate non-locally trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong. Starting from 2014, MCHK has increased the frequency of the Licensing Examination from once to twice a year. In the past five years, an annual average of about 50 candidates passed the Licensing Examination. MCHK has also relaxed the requirements on the period of internship assessment. Applicants who have passed the Licensing Examination and have a specialist qualification may apply to MCHK for exemption from internship assessment of the relevant specialty. Under the new arrangement, the period of internship assessment can be shortened from one year to half year. This new arrangement is applicable to those who start their internship assessment on or after January 1, 2016.

Ends/Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Issued at HKT 15:33

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