Ex-hospitals chief wants quick action on new med school

Eunice Lam

The SAR administration should act quickly to set up the city's third medical school, given the aging population and high staff turnover in public hospitals, says former Hospital Authority chairman Antony Wu Ting-yuk.

In a Ming Pao article yesterday, Wu said the SAR should set up the school by 2027, with the first batch of students admitted in 2027/28.

He said another solution to address the acute doctor shortage in hospitals is to increase the annual intakes of the two existing medical schools at the University of Hong Kong and Chinese University.

However, due to inadequate facilities, there is still no timeline for these schools to reach the SAR's target of 400 students each year.

"There is a need to establish a third one targeting students with a first degree to recruit the best people from the world," Wu said.

He suggested the city take reference from US and UK schools that allow first-degree holders to enroll in medical programs.

Wu believed leading hospitals in all seven of the authority's clusters could support the proposed third school as a teaching hospital.

Wu's article appeared on the same day that a source told local media Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is in talks with Imperial College London about setting up such a school.

A detailed proposal is expected to be submitted to Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau by the end of this month.

The source said Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has not objected to HKUST's plan, but the administration's support will hinge on Lo's review and decision.

HKUST president Nancy Ip Yuk-yu has said it would collaborate with a European institution to run the proposed school and aims to set it up before mid-2027.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Jordan has also been in talks with HKUST about acting as a teaching hospital, while two possible sites have been identified - one next to HKUST's Clear Water Bay campus, and another in Tseung Kwan O.

In response to The Standard's inquiry, a spokesman said HKUST is in continuing talks with bureaus and hopes to move forward quickly, as it believes this is beneficial for both Hong Kong and the mainland.