Hospital Authority statement on internship arrangements for healthcare professionals in Hong Kong
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The spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) issued the following statement today (March 26) to address public misconceptions regarding internship arrangements for healthcare professionals in Hong Kong:
Over the coming years, a number of HA hospitals will be completing redevelopment projects and commencing operations. While Kai Tak Hospital will open with 2 400 beds, Prince of Wales Hospital Phase 2 redevelopment will be completed with approximately 2 300 beds in place and North District Hospital redevelopment will have its hospital beds increase from 700 to approximately 2 200. As these hospitals come into service successively and service demand continues to grow, the HA will continue to recruit additional healthcare staff.
As the backbone of the public healthcare system, the HA promotes, facilitates, and participates in the training of healthcare talent which is one of its key missions. The HA has always regarded the training of professional healthcare personnel as a priority, and has been actively collaborating with local universities and post-secondary institutions to provide teaching opportunities and student internship placements in healthcare-related disciplines in accordance with Hong Kong's manpower needs. This ensures that Hong Kong has sufficient professional healthcare talent to serve patients and safeguard public health.
As the sole provider of internship and training posts, the HA provides sufficient places each year for all local medical graduates to complete their internships. Last year, all local medical graduates undertook their internships at various public hospitals. Under the relevant legislation governing medical registration, local medical graduates must complete their internship at accredited hospitals before they can obtain full registration to practise in Hong Kong.
Regarding nursing staff, the HA's nursing schools train 300 registered nurse students and 100 enrolled nurse students annually. In the year of 2025/26, the HA provided over 10 000 internship placements for nursing students from local universities and post-secondary institutions, helping them accumulate the required clinical experience before graduation. Furthermore, as of December 31, 2025, the HA had recruited a total of 2 788 nurses in the 2025/26 year to meet service demands and ensure sufficient staffing for patient care.
Regarding allied health manpower, the HA has consistently provided clinical internship opportunities for allied health students from various universities and post-secondary institutions. In 2025, approximately 2 000 allied health students from various institutions undertook clinical internships at public hospitals.
The HA has always placed great importance on nurturing a professional, stable, and sustainably developed healthcare team. The HA will continue to strengthen its professional healthcare workforce to meet future growth in service demand. As various new hospital and redevelopment projects are expected to open successively from this year onwards over the coming years, the HA will ensure sufficient staffing to support the additional beds and services, and to meet future healthcare needs.
In recent years, in addition to actively recruiting healthcare staff through various channels, the HA has also worked to retain existing staff and attract more healthcare professionals by creating additional senior positions - such as Consultant, Associate Consultant, Nurse Consultant, and Associate Nurse Consultant roles - thereby strengthening the overall capacity of its healthcare team.
Ends/Thursday, March 26, 2026
Issued at HKT 18:25
Issued at HKT 18:25
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