Nursing graduates not jobless, health chief says

Health Minister Lo Chung-mau dismissed recent claims that nursing graduates in Hong Kong are unable to find employment, stating that the Hospital Authority currently has around 3,200 vacancies for nursing positions. However, of the 4,000 nursing graduates from the previous year, only 2,500 applied for jobs at the Hospital Authority. Lo explained that nearly 40% of the graduates did not apply for HA jobs, giving them a choice in their career paths.

Of the 2,100 nursing graduates who did apply and underwent interviews and assessments, 99% of them were hired by the Hospital Authority. Lo clarified that the claim of nursing graduates being unemployed upon graduation does not hold, especially for those willing to work at the HA. He also highlighted that the turnover rate among nurses in public hospitals has decreased in recent years.

Lo emphasized that nurses have various career options, including public institutions, care homes, private hospitals, and clinics. He further refuted the notion that local nurses are losing jobs to non-locally trained staff, asserting that Hong Kong has a total of over 75,000 nurses. Of the 30,000 working at the Hospital Authority, only 55 are not locally trained, and these individuals assist in filling positions where local staff cannot be recruited.

The health minister also discussed the promotion of primary healthcare, noting that the number of district health centre members increased by nearly 40% in the past year, reaching over 600,000. The city’s first five-year plan aims to further increase this number to a million.