The Legislative Council (LegCo) held a meeting today (Oct. 18) to discuss the healthcare policy in the Policy Address. The Secretary for Health, Lo Chung-mau, said that the Task Group on New Medical School set up by the government is expected to hold its first meeting this month, and will shortly invite local universities interested in establishing new medical schools to submit proposals, which will be evaluated in the first half of next year, with a decision to be made by the end of next year.
Lo admitted that the establishment of a medical school involves a lot of capital, and that the training of doctors under the existing mechanism requires government input, and he expects that there will be innovative proposals in terms of fund-raising and mode of operation.
Some Legislative Council members were concerned about how the government will adjust the situation if there is a surplus of medical manpower in the future after the number of training places has been increased. Lo said that as the authorities were vigorously promoting the development of Hong Kong into a medical innovation hub, more medical professionals will be needed in the future, and the existing mechanism for introducing non-local training of doctors is flexible, so it is believed that there will not be any surplus manpower.
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