Health chief warns overstated claims of job shortages could lead to fewer new nurses
Hong Kong’s health minister has warned that the city will need to “bear the consequences” of exaggerating concerns over the employment prospects of nurses, as such remarks could deter new blood from joining the profession. “I do not want recent comments, such as claims that ‘[nursing] graduation equals unemployment’, to dampen the interest of our younger generation in joining the nursing…
Hong Kong's health minister has cautioned that overstating concerns over nursing job prospects could lead to fewer new nurses entering the profession. Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau expressed concern that remarks suggesting nursing graduates face immediate unemployment could discourage young people from pursuing the career. He emphasized that training nurses is a lengthy process and that the number of nurses cannot be increased rapidly.
Lo warned that if inaccurate statements affect recruitment next year, the city will have to face negative consequences. The ministry has already hired 20% more nurses over the past year and urges the public to rely on actual data rather than isolated cases when discussing employment prospects. The controversy stems from claims by a psychiatric nurse and the Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff, who called for a suspension of special registration routes for non-local nurses.
Health officials stressed that the Hospital Authority has recruited more nurses and only about 60% of nursing graduates applied for public hospital jobs in 2025.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post - Hong Kong's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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