Hong Kong Needs to Find More Doctors

Hong Kong urgently needs more doctors to alleviate system

 

Hong Kong has a serious shortage of doctors. Currently the ratio is two doctors for every 1,000 residents, compared with Australia at 3.8 and 4.3 in Sweden.

The problem is that the professional medical body makes it near impossible for non-locally-trained doctors to practice in the city with its licensing exams. Dentists also have a similarly difficult exam -- the regulatory body sets the rules and in the case of dentists, the questions aren't necessarily technical questions, so it's impossible to get almost 100 percent on the exam, which is the standard.

The academy says the govt did not consult it

So the Hong Kong government made a bold move by suggesting the city should recruit non-permanent residents to practice as specialists without taking the local licensing exam.

Needless to say the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine was dismayed at hearing the news.

"During the process of drafting the amendments, the government has always maintained good communication with the academy, but it did not consult the academy on the three changes put forward on Tuesday," it said, in response to the announcement from health authorities on proposed changes that included that of allowing non-permanent residents to practice as specialists.

The body claimed just having more non-locally trained doctors alone would not be enough to solve the issue.

"The government should review the system holistically and improve retention measures within the public medical system to ease the loss of talent and ever-growing need for manpower," it said.

Chan suggests ways to recruit more doctors

However, the loss of talent has only been in the recent year or so -- what about for the past years and decades? The body has not helped in suggesting ways to alleviate the pressure on the health system, only to fiercely protect its own.

In May health minister Sophia Chan Siu-chee floated the idea that foreign-trained permanent residents who had graduated from a list of recognized medical schools be allowed to practice without taking the local licensing test.

Another idea is to allow permanent resident medical students trained abroad to do their internships in Hong Kong after passing the licensing test, and giving overseas trained doctors already in the city on short-term "limited registration" contracts a chance at full registration.

Chan says if these suggestions are not implemented by 2030, there will be 1,650 fewer doctors than needed, and the figure will rise to 1,940 by 2040.

Chan wants non-resident doctors to be specialists

It was suggested by Chan's department that some 1,000 Hong Kong medical students educated abroad could do their internships in the city.

While the government insisted the academy would continue as the gatekeeper of specialist qualifications, wouldn't the body still make it difficult for overseas trained permanent resident medical students trying to get jobs in Hong Kong?

Perhaps it's an effort at appeasement, but Hong Kong really needs more doctors to keep the health care system functioning...

Silk Road: Labrang Monastery

Pilgrims turning prayer wheels at the entrance to Labrang Monastery

In Xiahe county, Gansu province is Labrang Monastery, home to the largest number of monks outside the Tibet Autonomous Region, about 2,700. It's a large compound that doubles as a tourist attraction, and so the monks must get used to tourists gawking at them or taking pictures or video of them.

The monastery was founded in 1709 and is Tibetan Buddhism's most important monastery town outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region. What also makes this particular place interesting is that it is the intersection of Tibetan and Mongolian cultures.

The monastery is a large compound where 2,700 monks live

It was and still is a place for education. Previously several thousand monks attended university here, now the numbers have dwindled to about 1,000. Monks can study subjects such as painting, medicine, philosophy and astrology. For medicine, they have to study for 15 years, learning about the various herbs and their medicinal benefits before they can treat patients.

As we toured the various temples, there were Tibetans, most of them women, wearing masks, hats and colourful outfits as they made their pilgrimage to the temple, praying in the hopes their loved ones would get better.

They would do this for hours, and one devout woman even wore knee pads as she kneeled on the ground, then with pads on her hands, prostrated herself on the ground, then stood up, took one step forward and again kneeled down and lay flat on the ground.

An elaborate sculpture made out of yak butter!

Many of the temples had huge Buddha statues sitting or standing serenely. One room we were taken into had air conditioning -- that's because it was filled with sculptures made of yak butter! Every new year the artistic students compete to see who has the best one and all the colourful entries are displayed all year, hence the need for air conditioning. They all seem to look very similar to each other which must make judging even harder...

Another room was filled with random objects that were given to Tibetan Lamas, from books to porcelain, to paintings, ivory carvings, robes, furniture and a globe. They didn't look nice enough to be in a museum, which is what this room was, but the monks were probably proud of receiving such gifts over the decades and centuries.

The last time there were problems with this monastery was in 2008 in response to the riots in Lhasa before the Beijing Olympics. But perhaps the Chinese government has retained its control over the monastery as our monk guide explained the Panchen Lama was the one sponsored by Beijing... one wonders if he gritted his teeth having to say this over and over again...

Another observation is that the monks here have a ruddy complexion and some look portly too -- that's because they do eat meat. However they are modestly dressed, except when they attend prayers. They all arrive at the largest temple in the compound -- which seats some 1,000 people -- and they wear a golden-coloured headdress that matches their robes.

Monks take off their boots before going in for prayer

We saw them outside the temple, taking off their black boots before going inside, and they just randomly left their footwear there, which made us wonder how they would know whose pair was whose?

But then we joked to ourselves that perhaps because of their Buddhist teaching of letting go of materialistic things that it didn't matter if they wore someone else's boots afterwards...

Rockefeller's Beautiful Mansion

The front facade of Kykuit, with a classic Italian style of architecture

We marked the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence yesterday by taking the train to Tarrytown to visit the Rockefeller mansion called Kykuit.

You can't go to the home on your own -- you must join and tour and it's quite strict, emphasizing that you can't take children under five years of age; the guides and staff get nervous when they see babies. Oh and don't bring big bags too -- a knapsack could be considered too big to bring on the grounds.

Our guide was mainland Chinese with the name tag DD Huang, a woman in a red sleeveless dress with tightly curled long hair. Unfortunately for us, her English was not fluent and so many of us on our tour had trouble understanding what she said. Her proficiency in the language also made her warnings sound particularly stern and unapologetic which to some seemed rude or condescending at times.

The back of the home with an extensive garden around it

Nevertheless, this is what we understood from the tour:

John D Rockefeller was the eldest son of six children, but his childhood was difficult. His father was a con man and kept a mistress, having two daughters with her.

Rockefeller was taught by his mother to work hard and he was academically good in school. At 16 he went to business school learning bookkeeping and this skill and talent would serve him well later on in life.

He and his brother William made their money in oil refining, co-founding Standard Oil together and buying up the competition to practically become a monopoly.

William had built a house in the Hudson Valley and suggested John D take a look. He was entranced by the view looking over the Hudson River and bought the land in 1893.

In 1906, John D Rockefeller together with his son Junior, planned and oversaw the construction of Kykuit, which in Dutch means "look out" or "overlook". They moved in two years later.

A swan gracing a pond that leads up to the tea room

Today visiting the house it is a mix of East and West, as John D Rockfeller Sr decorated it, followed by his son Junior and grandson Nelson, who became a senator.

There are a lot of Chinese antiques in the home, as Junior made some trips to China and bought many things, from the pair of stone lions that greet visitors at the front door, to Tang and Qing Dynasty ceramics, even carpets and upholstery have Chinese themes.

In the living room there is a headless Bodhisattva statue, a graceful body, that must have been a serene looking person.

We saw many rooms in the house, except the bedrooms, but the drawing room, the office, dining room, and music room -- that used to have a pipe organ installed in there and was subsequently replaced with a large colourful painting by Joan Miro.

There's also a lot of modern art in the home, particularly in the large garden that includes a swimming pool. There are many sculptures placed around the greenery that contrast with the classical Italian style of the home. Unfortunately we didn't take the garden tour that includes seeing all these pieces.

Modern art pieces contrast with the traditional-looking home

However, we did go into the basement where we saw several tapestries designed by Picasso specifically for Nelson Rockefeller, who had bought a number of his paintings. But because Picasso was a Communist, it wasn't politically correct for them to meet directly.

Nevertheless, Picasso agreed to allow his paintings to be modified into tapestries as long as they were not the same size or colours as the originals. Apparently some 18 of them were completed by a French weaver before Picasso passed away.

There's a mini museum in the home, filled with works by not only the Spanish artist, but also Georges Braque, Toulouse-Lautrec, Andy Warhol and Alexander Calder.

We also saw the changing room complete with a shower that was a precursor to today's modern jets, with a series of pipes that would have spewed water at the body in the middle, as well as the stables complete with a number of carriages and garage with a fleet of antique cars, as well as the home's own gas pump.

It's a pity we weren't allowed to photograph anything inside the house, but outside... another of these strict rules we had to follow.

A view of the Hudson River that Rockefeller fell in love with

But we preferred the view outside as well as the lush greenery. There was also a nine-hole golf course there too -- we spied some Rockefeller descendants whizzing around in golf carts -- their own private space. It turns out several of the Rockefeller families live on some parts of the estate today.

Rockefeller is also well known for his philanthropy, donating to medical research, higher education and the church.

It's hard to imagine someone today could amass as much wealth as the Rockefellers, though people like Li Ka-shing, Cheng Yu-tung, and Stanley Ho Hung-sun come close.

However the trio don't even come close when it comes to being a visionary in philanthropy and creating foundations, and donating land to benefit Hong Kong much, save for universities giving them naming rights to new buildings. Yawn.

We may never see anyone with the same moral stature as John D Rockefeller Senior. While he may be accused of conniving business practices, he did a lot of good not only for New York but for the various communities in the city and around the world in acts of charity that continue today.

Thanks, but No Thanks

Are you a Hong Kong "special talent" who wants residency in Beijing?

Are you interested in settling permanently in the mainland?

The Chinese government is keen to attract Hong Kong people to this sweet opportunity from March 1. Applicants considered "special talents" and their families from Hong Kong and Macau could not only get permanent residency but also Beijing household registration, or hukou.

That would definitely make you a bona fide mainlander.

Foreign "high-level talents", "innovative and entrepreneurial talents", and Hong Kong and Macau "high-level talents" who hold permanent residency or work residents permits, could also bring foreign domestic helpers to the capital.

Is that really a big bonus?

"Special talents" typically refers to senior managers and professionals with significant experience in hi-tech industries.

However, when asked about this latest development geared towards Hong Kong people in Beijing, some were not impressed.

"I am here because Beijing offers better job opportunities. Permanent residency is not a significant factor to make me stay," says George Yue Hong-chu, who has worked in Beijing in technology and operations management for eight years.

Yue has no plans to stay long term because it was difficult for him to integrate into the local culture, and pollution was another factor.

"Permanent residency may offer some benefits in medical and other areas, but these are not enough to attract me to stay for a very long time," he said.

An immigration consultant said Hong Kong senior executives didn't find local medical or educational services attractive, because most preferred international schools, hospitals and clinics.

But, if Hong Kong people did obtain hukou on the mainland, it would definitely help them enter industries that were previously restricted, or some people may find it attractive.

Talk about getting brownie points...

Saving Lives or Not?

The patient's wife sits in the hospital hoping for a liver donor for her husband

A male patient at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam has days to live after his liver transplant was stopped because it was found the new liver had early stages of cancer.

The operation was aborted, despite the low chances of the patient getting cancer, and now he has slipped into a coma. While his condition is described as "stable", it could change at any time.

The incident has resulted in a debate about the ethics of the medical procedure -- should surgeons still have gone ahead with the transplant? He seems to be in a worse state than he was before he went in for surgery.

However medical professionals said the surgeons did follow the correct protocol, but it seems nothing is being done to rectify the situation and try to find a right match as soon as possible.

Dozens of people have called the hospital to see if they are possible matches, and some have complained to the media that the hospital either didn't get back to them in a timely manner, or don't seem to treat this situation as an emergency.

Hopefully this issue has made people more aware of the importance of organ donation and possibly give them an incentive to live healthy lifestyles.

The patient's wife is terribly distraught, and the family has appreciated the public's interest in helping him. They are strong Christian believers, saying this is "in God's hands" and hope a suitable liver donor will come forward soon.

Is this really how this incident should end? By the same token, there are many patients who die waiting for an organ donation too. There are 94 people currently waiting for a new liver, and only 19 liver donations from deceased donors, 10 from live donors.

It's a sad state of affairs, but we hope an organ donor will save this man's life soon.