President, I support the Nurses Registration (Amendment) Bill 2023 (“the Bill”). Following the resumption of the Second Reading debate on the Bill today, I hope that the Bill can be read the third time and passed into law on the same day so that the Hospital Authority (“HA”) can expeditiously recruit overseas nurses to practise in Hong Kong for the benefit of the general public.

In gist, the Bill seeks to create new pathways for admitting qualified non-locally trained nurses to alleviate the shortage of nurses in the public healthcare system and the social welfare sector. In addition, the Bill will make continuing nursing education a mandatory requirement for nursing practice of all registered nurses and enrolled nurses to enhance the professional competency of nurses; and will make technical amendments to bring the regulatory regime of nurses up to date.

President, the acute and long-standing manpower shortage in the public healthcare system has remained unresolved over the years. The tight supply of nursing manpower can be seen from HA’s healthcare manpower projection. Taking general nurses as an example, the relevant manpower gap is projected to be 8 700, 6 900 and 6 000 respectively in 2030, 2035 and 2040.

With the imminent passage of the Bill, I think the SAR Government’s top priority should be to step up its promotion and publicity efforts to ensure that our target groups are informed of the new pathways for them to work in Hong Kong. Taking residential care homes for the elderly (“RCHEs”) as an example, there is a keen demand for nurses in RCHEs. The Government should collaborate with and support the trade in promotional activities, enhance publicity efforts and intensify recruitment initiatives to draw more talent to Hong Kong. This approach will facilitate more effective recruitment of suitable manpower within the sector.

After attracting non-locally trained nurses to work in Hong Kong, the next step is to facilitate their swift integration into the Hong Kong medical team (including adapting to the work requirements and pace in Hong Kong) and assist them in adapting to local living and securing stable employment in Hong Kong, so that they will not resign for failing to adapt to the local environment.

(THE PRESIDENT’S DEPUTY, DR STARRY LEE, took the Chair)

Deputy President, I hope that with more people joining the Hong Kong medical team, the work pressure on local healthcare workers will be alleviated and their morale will be boosted. The Health Bureau should also endeavour to roll out more measures to retain local healthcare professionals.

Lastly, following the Third Reading and passage of the Dentists Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024 by the Legislative Council last week concerning the admission of overseas dentists, and the imminent Third Reading and passage of the Bill today concerning the admission of overseas nurses, it is expected that a substantial number of professional doctors, dentists and nurses will be recruited from outside Hong Kong in the future. In this regard, I think the Government must expeditiously study how to recruit these professionals to work in Hong Kong in an organized and orderly manner.

As the recruitment channels, appointment procedures, publicity work and even accommodation upon their arrival in Hong Kong will all involve liaison with the relevant government departments, I think the Health Bureau needs to have HA take the lead in handling the relevant work proficiently. Officials of the Health Bureau should promptly take the initiative to plan the external publicity work and reach out to these professionals, and facilitate their swift integration into the team’s work. Ideally, there should be mutual cooperation, exchange and integration of professional knowledge, skills and culture in healthcare services.

Deputy President, the Liberal Party has been very concerned about the acute shortage of doctors, dentists and nurses in Hong Kong over the past 10-odd years. We have been actively pressing ahead with relevant improvement measures all these years. Therefore, I am pleased to see the passage of the bills concerning the Medical Registration Ordinance (MRO) and the Dentists Registration Ordinance (DRO) over the past few years, as well as the imminent passage of the bill concerning the Nurses Registration Ordinance (NRO) later today to secure sufficient manpower for healthcare services in Hong Kong. While the Government has allocated substantial funding in the past, the middle class still has to bear high medical expenses due to manpower shortage. Therefore, when the Bill is presented to the Legislative Council today, the Liberal Party fully supports the Second and Third Readings of the Bill, as well as the passage of the relevant amendments.

Thank you, Deputy President.