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Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a media stand-up session after attending the launch ceremony for the Hong Kong Smoke Free Leading Company Awards today (September 26):
Reporter: You are saying that the Hospital Authority will be certain that overseas doctors that will be hired are qualified even though they do not take the examinations?
Secretary for Food and Health: At the moment, the purpose of hiring overseas doctors is for specific positions in the Hospital Authority. These doctors will not go into private practice. They will work together with other specialists and specialist trainees in the Hospital Authority. This will guarantee their work will be appropriate to their level of qualifications. As I said earlier on, many of the applicants have qualifications that are similar to some of the specialists' qualifications in Hong Kong.
Reporter: When will the recruitment exercise be finalised and how many doctors will be hired?
Secretary for Food and Health: I do not have the exact time because it is done by the Hospital Authority. They will scrutinise the applications and send them to the Medical Council for endorsement.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, September 26, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:32
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