Hong Kong’s 2 medical schools say they can expand to take on 100 more students a year each to help solve healthcare staffing problems
- Deans of University of Hong Kong and Chinese University medical schools say they can expand if it was decided more doctors needed
- Both universities say they had prepared for expansion by training or recruiting more teaching staff and constructing new buildings
Hong Kong’s two medical schools could both cope with an increased intake of more than 100 students a year to help tackle a long-standing shortage of healthcare staff, their deans have said.
Francis Chan Ka-leung, who will step down as medical dean of Chinese University by the end of the month, said the school had prepared for an increase in numbers by training more professorial teaching staff and creating extra space to accommodate more students.
Lau Chak-sing, dean of the HKU medical school, told city media that the faculty could also increase its annual intake to 400 or more in four to five years.
He added that the school had also launched a staff recruitment drive and was constructing new buildings.
Chan highlighted that Chinese University’s medical faculty launched a training scheme for young professors about eight years ago, and more than 20 people had gone through the programme.
