The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, visited the Prince Philip Dental Hospital (PPDH) today (May 9) to get a better grasp of its work in training local dental professionals.

     Accompanied by the Chairman of the Board of Governors of PPDH, Mr Huen Wong, Professor Lo and the Under Secretary for Health, Dr Libby Lee, visited the PPDH's training facilities such as primary care clinic, comprehensive dental clinic and simulation laboratory. They also received an introduction by the Director of the PPDH, Professor Cynthia Yiu, on the screening arrangements for teaching patients and the details of PPDH's training of dentists and ancillary dental workers (including dental hygienists and dental therapists). Professor Lo urged the PPDH to enhance the clinical competencies of dentists and ancillary dental workers, with a view to ensuring a sustainable supply of quality healthcare professionals to meet the growing demand for dental services in Hong Kong.

     Professor Lo and his team then chatted with some student dental hygienists and student dental therapists to learn about their training experience.

     Professor Lo said, "Hong Kong has been facing a shortage of dentists over the years, with a particularly keen demand for relevant manpower in the public healthcare sector. This situation of dental professionals shortage affects the dental care services for our community, in particular the underprivileged.

     "As such, we are considering to introduce amendment to the Dentists Registration Ordinance, thereby creating new pathways for the admission of qualified non-locally trained dentists to practise in specified institutions, and modernising the regulatory framework for dentists and ancillary dental workers to ensure the adequate manpower support for our public or subsidised dental care services in the long run.

     "We have earlier met with various stakeholders, including representatives of the Dental Council of Hong Kong and dental professional associations, as well as faculty staff and students of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Hong Kong to collect their views on the proposed amendments to the Ordinance. We are actively considering the views and suggestions from various sectors for the formulation of a concrete proposal with a target of submitting recommendations to the Legislative Council within this year. I am glad to have the chance to gain first-hand understanding of the training process of dentists and ancillary dental workers at PPDH through the visit today. This is helpful to us in taking a more holistic approach during our legislative exercise."

Ends/Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Issued at HKT 17:28

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