LCQ7: Manpower of and training for doctors
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Question:
Regarding the manpower of and training for doctors in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the staffing establishment and strength of doctors under the Hospital Authority (HA) as at the end of March this year, and set out in the table below a breakdown by (i) hospital cluster, (ii) specialty/department and (iii) rank (Consultant/Associate Consultant/Specialist Resident/Non-specialist Resident);
| Hospital cluster | Specialty/ department |
Rank | Staffing establishment of doctors |
Strength of doctors |
(2) whether it knows the following information on doctors under HA in each of the past three financial years:
(i) the number and rate of wastage, with a breakdown by cause of wastage (e.g. retirement, resignation, transfer, dismissal and death),
(ii) the average number of years for which they had served in their respective ranks at the time when they left the service,
(iii) the number of new recruits and
(iv) the net growth rate,
and set out in the table below the information by hospital cluster, specialty/department and rank;
| Financial year: ________ | ||||||
| Hospital cluster | Specialty/ department |
Rank | (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) |
(3) of the staffing establishment and strength of doctors under the Department of Health (DH) as at the end of March this year, and set out in the table below a breakdown by specialty/department;
| Specialty/department | Staffing establishment of doctors | Strength of doctors |
(4) of the following information on doctors under DH in each of the past three financial years:
(i) the number of wastage, with a breakdown by cause of wastage,
(ii) the wastage rate,
(iii) the number of new recruits and
(iv) the net growth rate,
and set out in the table below a breakdown by specialty/department;
| Financial year: _________ | ||||
| Specialty/department | (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) |
(5) whether it knows the number of applicants for the specialist training programmes offered by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM) in each of the past three financial years and, among them, the number and percentage of those who were admitted to the programmes, and set out in the table below a breakdown by college;
| Financial year: _________ | |||
| College | Number of applicants |
Number of persons admitted |
Admission percentage |
(6) whether it knows the number of specialist training places HKAM plans to provide in each of the coming three financial years, and set out in the table below a breakdown by college;
| College | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 |
(7) of the respective attendances of the various specialties/departments under DH in the past three financial years;
(8) among the doctors under (i) DH and (ii) HA, of the respective numbers and percentages of those in the past three financial years who provided primary healthcare services; the details of such services, including their respective attendances, service targets, and attainment rates of such service targets; and
(9) of the respective numbers of doctors of DH and HA who will provide primary healthcare services, and the number of doctors who will provide such services at the District Health Centres, in the coming three financial years; the details of such services, including their respective attendances and the percentages of such numbers in the total service demand in Hong Kong?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Han-pan is as follows:
(1) The manpower figures of doctors by specialty and by rank in each hospital cluster of the Hospital Authority (HA) as at the end of March 2019 are set out in Annex 1.
(2) The attrition figures and attrition rates of full-time doctors, their years of service when they left the service, the intake figures of doctors, as well as the manpower figures and net growth rates of doctors, by specialty and by rank in each hospital cluster of the HA in the past three financial years are set out in Annexes 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
(3) The number of doctors in the Department of Health (DH) by specialty/department as at April 1, 2019 is set out in Annex 6.
(4) In the past three financial years, there were 21 to 25 staff members of the medical grade left the DH each year. The wastage rate was between 4% and 6%. A total of 69 doctors were newly recruited, and the net growth rate was zero.
(5) and (6) At present, specialist training of local doctors is mainly provided by the HA. The numbers of Resident Trainees recruited by the HA for specialties in the past three years and in 2019-20 are tabulated in Annex 7.
(7) The attendances of the main out-patient services provided by the DH for the public in the past three years are set out in Annex 8.
(8)
(i) Regarding the DH's main primary out-patient services provided for the public, the numbers of doctors involved, the service targets and the attainment rates of such service targets in the past three years are set out in Annex 9.
Furthermore, other divisions of the DH have also been implementing projects and initiatives to enhance primary healthcare services in Hong Kong. These measures include health promotion, health education, prevention of non-communicable diseases, and the implementation of the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme, the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme and the Colorectal Cancer Screening Pilot Programme, etc. A breakdown of the number of doctors by type of service is not available.
(ii) The HA's primary healthcare services are provided by the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care (FM&PHC) of each hospital cluster through general out-patient clinics (GOPCs), Family Medicine specialist clinics and clinics for HA staff. Most of the doctors in the Department of FM&PHC provide consultation service at GOPCs.
The numbers of doctors in the Department of FM&PHC and their percentages in the total numbers of doctors in the HA in the past three years are set out in Annex 10.
GOPCs of the HA are committed to providing community-based primary healthcare services. These services are primarily used by the elderly, low-income groups and chronically ill patients. The numbers of attendances of these GOPCs in the past five years are set out in Annex 11.
The estimated annual service capacity of GOPCs of the HA is subject to confirmation by the Government. Hospital clusters and clinics will plan for their annual service capacities with regard to the output indicators set for the year. The service outputs met the output indicators in the past five years.
(9)
(i) Projected changes in the staffing establishment of doctors for the DH's main primary out-patient services provided for the public in the coming three years are set out in Annex 12.
(ii) To meet the demand for GOPC services in the community, the HA seeks resources every year to enhance the general out-patient services through formulating its annual plan. The HA will increase the quota for GOPCs in its five clusters, namely Kowloon Central Cluster, Kowloon East Cluster, Kowloon West Cluster, New Territories East Cluster and New Territories West Cluster, by 44 000 in 2019-20 and further to 99 000 from 2020-21 onwards. In the coming few years, the HA will continue to actively recruit staff according to the actual operation and service demand, with a view to further enhancing the service capacity of its GOPCs when manpower and other resources allow.
(iii) District health centres will be set up mainly for the purposes of providing preventive primary healthcare services, promoting early identification of health problems among targeted groups, enhancing patients' ability in self-management of health, and working in collaboration with primary healthcare services and facilities in the communities, so as to better meet individuals’ health needs at the district level. These centres will provide health assessment and screening services for chronic diseases through engaging private doctors in the district-based network instead of employing their own doctors.
Ends/Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Issued at HKT 13:30
Issued at HKT 13:30
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