The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     The Hospital Authority (HA) today (February 15) submitted to the Medical Council of Hong Kong (MCHK) the new applications of three non-locally trained doctors for limited registration to serve in public hospitals.
 
     The HA spokesperson said public hospitals have been facing doctor manpower shortages and workload issues in various clinical units. The recruitment of non-locally trained doctors has been supported by the respective Co-ordinating Committees and endorsed by the HA Task Force on Limited Registration Scheme.
 
     The three new applications for limited registration submitted to the MCHK today are in radiology, emergency medicine and family medicine.
 
     The HA spokesperson added, "The recruitment of overseas doctors has been progressing well since last year with the extension of limited registration to a three-year term. So far about 20 non-locally trained doctors have been assessed to be eligible for the recruitment exercise, passing the screening by the respective specialty panels, vetted further by the Task Force and considered suitable for appointment after interviews by user departments. All the applicants have fulfilled related qualification requirements recognised by the constituent Colleges of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, and they all have license to practise in their respective countries. The HA will submit limited registration applications for non-locally trained doctors by batches according to their intended date of reporting duty."
 
     As at January 2019, there are 10 non-locally trained doctors working in public hospitals under limited registration in the specialties of anaesthesia, cardiothoracic surgery, emergency medicine, family medicine and internal medicine to help relieve the manpower pressure in the respective units.
 
     The HA will continue the recruitment of non-locally trained doctors under limited registration and closely monitor the overall manpower situation in public hospitals.

Ends/Friday, February 15, 2019
Issued at HKT 18:35

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