FHB welcomes announcement by Guangdong Province on arrangement for recruiting HK Chinese medicine practitioners by GBA public healthcare institutions
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The Food and Health Bureau today (August 30) welcomed the announcement made by the Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau of Guangdong Province on the arrangement for recruiting Hong Kong Chinese medicine practitioners (CMPs) by public healthcare institutions in the Mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has been maintaining close liaison with the relevant Mainland authorities to follow up on the implementation of various measures favourable to the development of Chinese medicine in the GBA. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau of Guangdong Province announced today that Hong Kong CMPs will be recruited within 2021, on contract terms, by selected pilot sites of public Chinese medicine healthcare institutions in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The exact recruitment procedures, terms and conditions of employment will be determined and announced by the relevant healthcare institutions. The authorities will consider whether the scope of the pilot sites should be expanded, having regard to the actual implementation situation.
The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, said, "The HKSAR Government greatly welcomes the official implementation of the measure and expresses gratitude to the relevant authorities of the Central Government and Guangdong Province for their staunch support for the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. The measure enables Hong Kong CMPs to further their practice within the national healthcare system, thereby promoting exchanges in Chinese medicine and providing Hong Kong CMPs, in particular the younger generation, with the opportunity to pursue development in the GBA."
Professor Chan added, "At present, under the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement and its relevant supplementary agreements, a series of policies has been in place to enable Hong Kong CMPs to practise Chinese medicine and establish healthcare institutions in the Mainland. The latest arrangement allows Hong Kong CMPs to practise in Mainland public healthcare institutions, thereby expanding their scope for development."
To advance the development of Chinese medicine in the GBA, the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued in September 2020 the Construction Plan for the Chinese Medicine Highlands in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2020-2025). Major Hong Kong-related measures include: taking the opportunity of the development of the first Chinese medicine hospital (CMH) in Hong Kong to establish a GBA Chinese medicine consortium and CMH community; encouraging Hong Kong CMPs to practise in Mainland public healthcare institutions; giving full play to Hong Kong's strengths as a Chinese medicine testing centre with a view to developing Hong Kong into an international hub for drug testing and quality control research for Chinese medicine; and streamlining the approval procedures for Hong Kong registered proprietary Chinese medicines for external use to be registered in the GBA.
Ends/Monday, August 30, 2021
Issued at HKT 16:28
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