HKU Dean of Medicine says city needs to recruit more medical teachers and research staff
The dean of medicine at the University of Hong Kong said Saturday that there needs to be more frontline staff in the city's medical sector, as well as more researchers and teachers, who are vital to the future development of medical institutions.
In an interview on a radio program, Professor Wallace Lau Chak-sing said that the turnover rates for doctors and nurses under the Hospital Authority were 7.7 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
However, he said his medical school faces similar difficulties due to the decline in teaching staff over the past six years, making it difficult to guide students in their research.
His school will travel to Australia and England in the next two months to recruit overseas talent, and he hopes to attract 140 professionals by 2027.
"What we really need is someone who actually works in the medical and health-related sciences field, someone who has achievements in the academic development of medical and health sciences," he said.
"These people will be able to help us develop our research areas, as well as to train up our future doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other researchers."
Under the GBA Healthcare Talents Exchange Programme, 83 doctors, nurses, and Chinese medicine practitioners have already arrived in Hong Kong.
"I hope this can be experimental, and we can see how these talents can be integrated into our sector. But this takes time, as our medical system and the language we use are different from theirs," Lau said.
It is his hope that the scheme could help alleviate the medical industry's labor shortage.