Amidst the threat of two deadly infectious diseases in our neigbourhood, namely, SARS and Avian Flu, arrival of the year of Monkey seems to support and boost up the health status of Hong Kong citizens.
Reports from the media revealed that there was a drop of 24% attendance in the Accident and Emergency Departments and General Outpatient Clinics of the Hospital Authority in the Chinese New Year Holidays as compared to the figures of last year. Better or worse still, apart from one or two colleagues in the busy areas, like Mongkok, who would experience 10 to 20% rise in their business most probably due to visitors from Mainland China; sources from various regions of Hong Kong reported poor attendance of patients in private medical clinics during the Chinese New Year Holidays.
The overall decrease in attendance of private medical clinics was reported to be around 50% as compared with last years figure. Such phenomenon is most probably due to factors like historical low temperature for this Chinese New Year holidays, high degree of health awareness of Hong Kong citizens after SARS saga last year, many people may have acquired immunity against influenza after receiving flu vaccine by various means and there is record high number of people taking long holidays abroad. It may be a good sign for Hong Kong to come out from threatening epidemics then. However, with the decreasing number of patient attendance, our days in private medical practice will be numbered too.
On the other hand, our mainland authority is offering opportunities in Mainland China to professionals, including our medical profession, in Hong Kong under the CEPA arrangement. Indeed, there are lots of calls in the media recently asking for Beijing Authority to lower hurdles for professionals in Hong Kong to build up professional services in the Mainland China. They are asking vigorously for better environment in the Mainland for investment and job opportunities.
Even though a recent survey done in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou revealed the positive attitude of Mainland Chinese towards Hong Kong with 86% of the responders agreed that Hong Kong has contributed a lot to the Mainland China and 76% agreed that the relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China became closer after 1997, however, it was reported in Mingpao on 25th January, 2004 that the Beijing Authority was complaining that we, professionals, are asking for too much. It was reported that the Beijing Authority is complaining that while we ask for their recognition of our professional status, we in Hong Kong do not offer reciprocal recognition to them. Mingpao even quoted the Authority citing the example of our Medical Professional is creating hurdles for medical graduates from Mainland China to come to Hong Kong to practise. They said that even though we were taught by the English system, we are no better doctors than they are Mainland China since they have a lot of clinical materials to gain clinical experience. Their argument should have won our greatest respect since this is the exact reason that we medical practitioners in Hong Kong are against linking annual renewal of practising certificate with Continuing Medical Education. In other words, they are telling us we are not the best doctors, they are. If they should recognize our Professional Status, we should recognize them too.
That is the reason why in the recent Policy Meeting of the Medical Council of Hong Kong held in January 2004, there was an urgent agenda referred from the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau on the matter of reciprocal recognition of doctors graduated from Mainland China. The decision of the Medical Council, as expected, is negative. But would they stop at that? Or should we stop at that too? The answer is definitely NO! The crux of the matter is that there should be open fairness to be done and seen. There should be equal treatment for doctors from Hong Kong in Mainland China and for doctors from Mainland China in Hong Kong. So we have to be careful on what we are asking for in the coming future. Or else, we may open a can of worms on ourselves.
Wishing you a prosperous and healthy year of the Monkey!
Dr. Yeung Chiu Fat Henry