Opening medical door will not hurt quality
Hong Kong is eyeing graduates from many of the world’s top medical schools to take up jobs as doctors in its manpower-starved public hospitals. How many from the first batch of 27 will be attracted is a matter of wait-and-see. But it is an initial and necessary step to shortening chronically long waiting periods and queues for even basic treatment. With time and experience, the process will be broadened and requirements perhaps even modified to ensure the best possible healthcare for the most needy in our fast-ageing society.
The city’s medical profession long objected to opening doors to outsiders, contending standards would be lowered if local licensing examinations were not passed. But ever-lengthening waiting times, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, prompted authorities to step in and lawmakers approved changes last October. The first list of schools from which graduates can apply for jobs that require working for at least five years in the public hospital system before being able to register for private practice includes the best in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore. It will also be a useful guide to students wanting to study overseas.
Hong Kong’s focus on Western medicine in the local hospital system makes for understandable choices. But the list has also raised questions why mainland China is not represented, an anomaly given a number of its medical schools rank among the best 100 in the world. A government source’s belief that at least four will be included in subsequent rounds is heartening; thousands of Chinese doctors travel to Western countries each year to work, so there is no question many are capable of qualifying. There are differences to the two systems, but that can be remedied with orientation and training in local practices.
Recognition of the schools began on Thursday, so how attractive our public hospitals will be to some of the world’s elite medical graduates will be quickly apparent. The shortage of medical professionals is global, though, so fierce competition is bound to require widening the search. Hong Kong has finally opened its medical system to outsiders and it must put the needs of citizens first. That does not mean compromising quality, but simply looking with an open mind beyond our borders.