Locally trained nurses remain the backbone of the public healthcare system as 99.8 percent of these Hospital Authority (HA) caregivers are trained in Hong Kong, the government said on Tuesday as it addressed community concerns over manpower planning and job opportunities within the sector.

In a statement, it said there are still about 3,200 job vacancies for nurses in public hospitals and that about 99 percent of applicants who had completed the recruitment process were offered appointments, reflecting continued demand for qualified nurses.

In its latest recruitment drive in June, the authority received about 3,000 applications, of which 2,200 were accepted.

Chief manager of nursing Danny Tong said the HA had never intended to hire all nursing graduates in Hong Kong.

"The supply of graduates is meant to serve the healthcare needs of the entire territory – including private hospitals and elderly care homes," he told an RTHK programme on Tuesday.

"And in fact, not all graduates have historically applied for positions with us.

"I believe that's because there are many other opportunities out there in society."

The government said a private hospital had indicated it had been short of nursing staff over the past year after receiving only 25 applications for its 40 vacancies.

The government also sought to clear up confusion about the newly created Health and Care Practitioner rank for the welfare sector.

It said these practitioners are distinct from enrolled nurses in professional grades given their different training objectives and scopes of practice.

The government said it would continue to strengthen manpower training, particularly in primary healthcare, amid rising demand for nursing services resulting from the city's ageing population.





Edited by Tony Sabine