Thank you, Deputy President. Hong Kong’s public healthcare services have long been inadequate. With an ageing population, the service demand keeps growing, leading to a severe shortage of healthcare personnel and immense pressure on the public healthcare sector. I support the current amendment to the Nurses Registration Ordinance to admit non-locally trained nurses, as I believe that can effectively alleviate the shortage of nurses.
Several new arrangements would be introduced under this legislative amendment exercise to address the manpower shortage in residential care homes, clinics and public hospitals. To ensure the professional quality of nurses and safeguard the professional standards of Hong Kong’s healthcare system, the new provisions stipulate that qualified non-locally trained nurses must have obtained the relevant qualifications outside Hong Kong, with their course content being comparable to the training courses recognized by the Nursing Council. Additionally, depending on the job requirements, they are required to accumulate one to three years of full-time clinical experience after obtaining their qualifications to be eligible for application. Subsequent to the legislative amendment, all nurses are required to provide updated employment and practice information during the renewal of their practising certificates. This will enable the Nursing Council to estimate more accurately the manpower gaps, thereby taking appropriate measures to address the demand.
According to data from the Legislative Council in 2023, the turnover rate of full-time nurses at the Hospital Authority (“HA”) experienced a significant increase, rising from 5.8% in 2020-2021 to 11% in 2022-2023. This surge indicated a loss of over 2 900 full-time nurses, nearly equivalent to the annual number of training places. While Hong Kong offers relatively competitive wages for nurses, there are still hurdles in attracting non-locally trained nurse applicants, which, in my view, should be addressed by the Government. First of all, the Government should enhance support measures such as adjusting shift systems to ensure fair and flexible staffing arrangements. This improvement would allow adequate rest time for nurses, safeguarding the quality of healthcare services while enhancing the work environment and career development prospects. Secondly, staff quarters should be offered to provide non-locally trained nurses with suitable living conditions. Furthermore, the Government should consider actively promoting international cooperation through nurse exchange and training programmes to elevate the quality of Hong Kong’s healthcare services and enhance the professional skills and global perspectives of local nurses, facilitating the exchange of healthcare technologies and experiences.
The latest Healthcare Manpower Projection shows that the shortage of general nurses will further worsen in the short and medium term. By 2025 and 2030, the projected manpower gap is expected to be in the thousands. Conversely, for psychiatric nurses, whose job nature is similar, the projections indicate a shortage of 320 by 2025 but an excess of 60 by 2030. In the case of midwives, there is an anticipated excess of 1 220 by 2025 and 1 070 by 2030. Therefore, in formulating future training plans, the Government should reallocate training resources from midwives and psychiatric nurses to the training of general nurses. More importantly, the Government should retain HA nurses to mitigate turnover rates. This is exactly what the Government should ponder to guarantee an ample supply of nurses in Hong Kong.
Thank you, Deputy President.