Health chief rejects claims Chinese nurses are favoured over local candidates

Hong Kong’s health minister has rejected claims that authorities favour mainland nurses over local candidates, saying locally trained professionals have “very good chances” of finding work even as public hospitals struggle to recruit.Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said on Friday that the Hospital Authority had hired 95 per cent of local applicants for nursing positions over the past year. The figure rose to 99 per cent among applicants with registered nurse qualifications.He said that more than 4,000 students had graduated with nursing degrees, about 3,500 of whom registered as nurses, but only 2,500 applied for Hospital Authority vacancies.“So the problem is instead, why there were so many graduates deciding not to apply for [public hospital] jobs?” he told a radio show.“Public hospital nurses need to work on shifts and be on duty overnight, which is difficult, and I fully understand that.”Lo was responding to two residents who told Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on a radio show, after the release of his latest policy address, that nurses were struggling to find work. They blamed the authorities’ recruitment of non-local nurses for reducing job opportunities for Hong Kong residents.Lo has questioned why so many nursing graduates did not apply for public hospital jobs, saying only 2,500 of more than 4,000 degree holders did so. Photo: Jonathan WongOne caller, who described himself as a disciplined services psychiatric nurse on pre-retirement leave, said his application to extend his employment had been rejected despite severe staff shortages in his department. He added that his daughter, who had studied the same subject, had been unable to find a job after graduating.