Health Secretary Lo Chung-mau on Friday said safeguards will be put in place to ensure the quality of non-locally trained nurses the government brings in through a proposed special registration scheme.

He was commenting on a planned pathway of special registration that will allow qualified nurses trained outside of Hong Kong to work in the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority without taking a licensing exam, whether they are permanent residents or not.

"These non-locally trained healthcare professionals will have their credentials assessed by respective councils and boards by looking at their working experiences,” said Lo.

“That will be an important gatekeeper for us. They will also be assessed by employer institutes, in particular the Hospital Authority, which will be another gatekeeper," he added.

Lo also noted that there will be on-the-job supervision for newly recruited staff from outside Hong Kong.

The health chief said increasing manpower in the medical sector is key to improve its working environment.

"We have to stop the current vicious cycle when we have a high attrition, a high wastage rate in our staff, resulting in a worse working environment for them. We want to create a positive spin to increase our manpower, and that would actually help to improve their working conditions and that would set up a positive spiral," he told reporters.

Earlier, medical sector lawmaker David Lam urged the government to provide more details on the criteria of the scheme.

"We are not certain what kind of criteria is expected of the applicants," Lam said. "I would expect the government to consult the profession widely and in more detail before they roll out the specifics of their proposal."

Lo said officials will listen to the sector’s views, adding that the Nursing Council of Hong Kong will make a final decision.