The Hospital Authority (HA) said it has given conditional offers to around 200 non-locally trained nurses to work in Hong Kong.

In July, Legco passed legislation to allow non-locally trained nurses to practise in the SAR, introducing a new pathway for them to work here through special registration without the need to pass local licensing exams.

Speaking at a press briefing after an HA board meeting on Monday, the authority's chairman Henry Fan said public hospitals have lost 314 nurses over the past 12 months.

Fan said the HA has been recruiting from places such as the mainland, Singapore, Malaysia and the UK.

"As for the applicants, since the end of July when we started accepting applications from non-locally trained nurses, the response has been quite enthusiastic. We have already received a significant number of job applications," he said.

"After our initial screening, we have identified around 200 applicants whose backgrounds and qualifications meet the requirements of the Hospital Authority. We have started sending out conditional offers to them."

Fan said the HA will give priority to staff who speak Cantonese, to help ensure the service quality at public hospitals.