Hong Kong health chief disputes claim mainland nurses get preference

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Health, Lo Chung-mau, has rejected claims that authorities favour nurses trained in mainland China over locally trained candidates. Lo said locally trained professionals had “very good chances” of finding work, even as public hospitals faced difficulties recruiting staff. His comments addressed concerns about the treatment of local applicants for nursing positions.

According to Lo, the Hospital Authority hired 95 per cent of local applicants over the past year. The proportion rose to 99 per cent among applicants who held registered nurse qualifications. The figures were cited by Lo as evidence against the claim that mainland nurses were being given preference.

The supplied material does not state how many local applicants were considered, how many positions were available or how the recruitment figures were calculated. It also does not give the number of mainland-trained nurses hired or provide a comparison with earlier years. No response from groups making the preference claim is included.

Lo’s remarks came as Hong Kong’s public hospitals continued to face recruitment difficulties, according to the supplied report. The material does not specify the scale of the staffing shortage or identify particular hospitals affected. The minister said the local hiring figures demonstrated that locally trained nurses remained competitive for available posts.