LCQ8: Vetting of the qualifications for specialist registration
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Question:
According to the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161), the requirements for a registered medical practitioner's name to be included in the Specialist Register include (a) having been awarded a Fellowship of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM), or (b) having been certified by the HKAM to have training and qualification comparable to that required of an HKAM Fellow in the relevant specialty. A non-locally trained doctor may have his name included in the Specialist Register if he has been certified by HKAM to have met requirement (b). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(1) the number of applications, received by the HKAM in each of the past 10 years, for vetting the applicants' qualifications to see if requirement (b) had been met; and
(2) in respect of the applications mentioned in (1), (i) a breakdown of the number by the specialty involved and the place where the applicants received their training, and (ii) the respective numbers of those which have been approved, have been rejected, are under vetting, and are under appeal?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM), my reply to the question raised by the Hon Tommy Cheung is as follows:
(1) The numbers of applications received by the HKAM in the past 10 years for vetting specialist qualifications are as follows:
| Year | Number of Applications |
| 2011 | 7 |
| 2012 | 8 |
| 2013 | 10 |
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2015 | 6 |
| 2016 | 10 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 6 |
| 2019 | 9 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| Total | 74 |
(2) In respect of the 74 applications mentioned in (1), the percentage of applicants by place of specialist training received is as follows:
| Place of Training | Percentage (%) |
| The United Kingdom | 43 |
| The United States of America | 18 |
| Australia and New Zealand | 16 |
| Canada | 8 |
| Singapore | 7 |
| Malaysia | 2 |
| France | 2 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Ireland | 1 |
| Macau, China | 1 |
| Taiwan, China | 1 |
In respect of the 74 applications mentioned in (1), the number of applications by specialty is as follows:
| Specialty | Number of Applications |
| Medicine | 31 |
| Radiology | 9 |
| Surgery | 9 |
| Psychiatry | 5 |
| Ophthalmology | 4 |
| Orthopaedics & Traumatology | 4 |
| Paediatrics | 3 |
| Family Medicine | 3 |
| Obstetrics & Gynaecology | 3 |
| Ear, Nose and Throat | 2 |
| Anaesthesiology | 1 |
| Total | 74 |
In respect of the 74 applications mentioned in (1), the respective numbers of applications which have been approved, have been rejected, are under vetting, and are under appeal are as follows:
| Approval Status | Number |
| Approved | 49 |
| Rejected | 24 |
| Under Vetting | 1 |
| Under Appeal | 0 |
| Total | 74 |
Ends/Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Issued at HKT 15:15
Issued at HKT 15:15
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