Sick of getting sick? Well you may be going it alone in the near future if this ill prothecy of a doctor shortage is realised. But who’s going to give you en entire rainbow of pills you don’t need for a sniffle?
The government contracted HKU to conduct a study on the demand for health professionals in both public and private hospitals in the next 15 to 20 years. Though the government, anticipating a rise in demand, had already made efforts to increase the supply of doctors, the study found it will not be enough to fill the need, reports the SCMP.
Both HKU and CUHK had already increased the number of places in their medical courses, meaning 420 new doctors will be working by 2018. Next year, that number will be around 320.
Currently, the Hospital Authority has 250 vacancies for doctors with an annual turnover of over five percent.
Apparently the Medical Council has passed a resolution to allow certain overseas medical specialists (including paediatricians and obstetricians) to start working without having to take a clinical exam. They’re also considering whether they should let foreign doctors who have a certain amount of experience work without having to do a year-long internship at local hospitals, as they are currently required to do.
Unsurprisingly, the local doctors’ union, the Medical Association, opposes making it easier for foreign doctors to practice in Hong Kong. Approximately 100 doctors licensed in foreign countries sit the exam twice a year, with about a 50 percent pass rate.
