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Fiona Sun

As many as one-third of about 50 students to be admitted initially to Hong Kong’s third medical school will be non-local, the city’s health minister has said, adding that a proposal on its establishment will be submitted to the chief executive before his coming policy address.
Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Saturday that the new medical school was expected to be developed without vicious competition in terms of faculty and student sources with the two existing ones.
He said the school would recruit second-degree students, including those from outside the city.
“The initial number of students admitted to the new medical school will not be very large. Our preliminary estimate is about 50,” he said on a television programme.
“One-third to one-quarter of the students will be non-local.”
Lo said he expected non-local students to stay and practise medicine in Hong Kong.
“Generally speaking, students who come to study in medical schools here intend to become doctors here,” he said.
“Even if they are non-local students, we expect them to stay here and become doctors, or even receive specialist training and settle down in Hong Kong in the long run. We have confidence in this aspect.”
Lo said authorities would summarise the suggestions from the universities and submit a proposal to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu before his policy address in September.
Lee mentioned the third medical school in his policy address in October last year.

Members of the government’s Task Group on New Medical School earlier met representatives from Baptist University, Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, which are competing to establish the institution.
The new institution is expected to employ “innovative strategic positioning” that may complement the two existing medical schools at the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
It should also help to address the chronic manpower crunch in the sector by increasing the number of doctors and supporting the city’s goal of becoming an international health and medical innovation hub.
Lo said funds were one factor in authorities’ consideration for the institutions, but the government put more emphasis on the training of medical personnel.
“Money is definitely one of the factors, but I would not say it is the most important factor,” he said.
“When we consider the third medical school, our priority is still the training courses of doctors. The most important thing is what kind of doctors will be given to us in the whole plan.”
Lo added: “In addition to the clinical ability and medical ethics of the doctors, we hope to support Hong Kong’s policy of being a hub for medical innovation. We hope that the new medical school can bring us better breakthroughs in this regard.”
The medical school will be built in the Northern Metropolis megaproject, which aims to transform 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) of land in the New Territories near the mainland Chinese border into a new economic growth centre and housing hub.
The government task group on the medical school is co-chaired by Lo and Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin. Seven experts also serve as advisers, including former Chinese University of Hong Kong president Professor Joseph Sung Jao-yiu and ex-University of Hong Kong president Professor Tsui Lap-chee.
Proposals will be assessed using 10 key parameters, such as innovative strategic positioning, clinical exposure, curriculum design and research.


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Education in Hong Kong

Up to a third of intake of new Hong Kong medical school to be non-local students

The new medical school is expected to be built on a site in the New Territories. Photo:  May Tse

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau. Photo: Dickson Lee

Race for third Hong Kong medical school hots up, but which team is leading?

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Chief Executive John Lee mentioned the third medical school in his policy address last year. Photo: Elson Li

HKUST has signed up urologist and former Hospital Authority chairman Dr Edward Leong. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Baptist University has pulled in experts to join its preparatory committee, including Dr Manson Fok, who helped set up Macau’s first medical school in 2019. Photo: Edmond So

PolyU has said its faculty could be established in five to six years. Photo: Sun Yeung

As of March last year, Hong Kong had around 16,000 doctors for a population of 7.5 million, giving a rough ratio of two per 1,000 people. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

HKUST ‘in talks’ with Imperial College London to set up third Hong Kong medical school

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is considered a front runner for establishing the city’s third medical school. Photo: Winson Wong

Former Hospital Authority chairman Anthony Wu has stressed that relying on non-local doctors to practise in Hong Kong was not a sustainable solution in the long run. Photo: Edmond So

Proposed Hong Kong medical school will train ‘new generation’ of tech-savvy doctors, says HKUST president Nancy Ip

President Nancy Ip says medical care will also be affected by advances in technology. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology campus in Clear Water Bay. Photo: May Tse

The university has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Beijing Tiantan Hospital. Photo: HKUST

Will a third medical school solve Hong Kong’s healthcare manpower crunch?

Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is discussing establishing a medical school with Imperial College London, with a proposal to be submitted to local authorities by the end of July. Photo: May Tse

HKU has announced that it is applying to launch a new graduate medical degree programme next year. Photo: Handout

Undersecretary for Health Libby Lee has ruled out the possibility of using existing hospitals as educational facilities for new medical programmes. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

News

Hong Kong

Education

Health secretary Lo Chung-mau says school will recruit second-degree students, with about 50 admitted in earlier stages


Health secretary Lo Chung-mau says school will recruit second-degree students, with about 50 admitted in earlier stages.
