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It is known that Hong Kong patients have been suffering from long waiting time for specialist treatments. The government must seek a solution to ease the plight of the patients. The recently proposed regulatory amendments to introduce non-locally trained doctors into the system can help but it is only a mitigation measure. To effectively address the shortage of doctors, it requires the coordination of multiple stakeholders.
At present, public hospitals in Hong Kong are facing a high turnover of doctors. Taking consultants as an example, the turnover rate was as high as 10% in 2018-2019, and it was 7.7% and 7% respectively in the following two years. Currently, it takes 12 years to train a specialist. Besides, the experience of specialists, especially senior specialists, is precious. Even if the two medical schools in Hong Kong increase the number of locally-trained doctors right now, there will not be an immediate effect on the replenishment of the lost expertise. Amidst the global
The persistent shortage of land for private housing means new development areas are the main hope to boost supply in future.
The nightmare of Hong Kong residents who are not property owners simply will not go away. Even after challenges including the anti-government protests in 2019 and the biggest health crisis for a century pushed the city into political instability and recessions, property prices are still standing firm. The Centa-City Leading Index recently climbed to over 180 points, which is within touching distance of its historical peak of 188 points in 2019. The fact is that bad news is not enough to force home prices to fall. Though many people may attribute this to strong user-based demand, the serious shortage of supply is a major cause.