Limited registration approved for non-locally trained doctors

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
 
     The Hospital Authority (HA) spokesperson today (January 27) announced that confirmation has been received from the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) on the approval of eight applications of non-locally trained doctors for practice with limited registration in public hospitals to help relieve the front-line workload. Among the eight applications, seven are new applications while the other one is for renewal. The eight doctors will be serving in the anaesthesia, cardiothoracic surgery, emergency medicine, neurosurgery, internal medicine and paediatrics departments.
 
     The HA spokesperson said that the recruitment of non-locally trained doctors will continue. Selection interviews by user departments will be arranged for eligible applicants. The HA will submit limited registration applications to the MCHK for the non-locally trained doctors who are considered suitable for appointment according to their intended date of reporting duty.
 
     Currently, there are 31 non-locally trained doctors working in public hospitals under limited registration to relieve the manpower shortage and workload pressure of front-line doctors in the specialties of anaesthesia, cardiothoracic surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, paediatrics, radiology and surgery.
 
     The HA currently recruits non-locally trained doctors as Service Residents in all specialties while the recruitment criteria of non-locally trained doctors in emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine and paediatrics has been extended to include eligible applicants with pre-intermediate qualifications recognised by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. The HA will also recruit non-locally trained specialists at the rank of Associate Consultant in specialties that face significant shortage of specialists (including anaesthesia, anatomical pathology, cardiothoracic surgery, otorhinolaryngology, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, radiology, nuclear medicine, neurosurgery and plastic surgery).