What I have learned recently on CEPA

When CEPA was first introduced to the Profession in 2003 by the Central Government, there was splendid hope on the glamorous outlook on the future of our Profession. The ex-Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Government at that time said that it was a ¡§gift¡¨ from the north to boost up our morale. Indeed, the morale of the Profession was extremely low at that juncture, especially after the SARS saga.

And when we looked at the offer, it included, inter alia:-

1. Doctors with Hong Kong resident status can go to Mainland China to practise medicine;

2. Limited licence of 3 years would be offered to those legally eligible to practise medicine in HKSAR in lieu of licence examination;

3. Hong Kong doctors and dentists are allowed to sit the Mainland licence examination;

4. The minimal registered capital for setting up a company (including Medical and Health institutes) is RMB 20 million.

I have been asked many times by our colleagues about the ways of going north to make a living. But as times goes by, more and more difficulties of setting up practices in the north are being reported to this Council. The following list is just part and partial of the hurdles that were reported to the Union:-

1. Hong Kong doctors have to be fluent in both ¡§simplified written Chinese¡¨ and spoken Putonghua in order to pass the licence examination and there would not be any change in the future on such requirements;

2. Setting up capital is too expensive for medical clinics and at least 30% of shares have to be held by citizens in Mainland China;

3. A lot of barriers and difficulties in getting approval from various local government departments;

4. The total number of years allowed for Limited registration is only 3 plus 3, i.e., 6 years.

We are told that there are few successful ventures on medical clinics by some wealthy colleagues. Having said that, we are also told that these colleagues were cheated in the end and they could not even get back their investment capital. The point is that these colleagues have to play the role of hidden shareholders and directors in these clinics. They are not trading according to the rules of CEPA. For those who follow the rules of CEPA, there has not been a single successful venture.

Our Union has made several visits to Beijing to air our members¡¦ concern and raise the above difficulties brought up by our members to the Ministry of Health of Mainland China. In fact, these have been published in June issue of our Bulletin in 2005. In May 2005, we met Prof. Huang Jiefu, Vice Minister of Ministry of Health and on 29th September 2006 we met Mr. Gao Qiang, Minister of Ministry of Health both in Beijing to request for their help in lowering the hurdles for our colleagues. However, They promised to make considerations but, up till now, there is no definite reply. They said that they would look into the matters but nothing solid was produced.

In our recent visit to Guangdong Health Department in October 2006, we were told by the Authority that:-

1. We are not welcome to practise in Mainland China as solo nor as group, even Beijing doctors are not welcome in Guangdong;

2. We are only welcome to invest huge sum of money to build hospitals;

3. We are most welcome to do charity work especially in under developed and poor areas of the country.

They would not lower any hurdle for us since the supply of doctors in the Mainland is plentiful. Doctors in the Mainland are also competing for posts and living like us. I do think that we should totally drop the idea of going north when there is neither guarantee job nor income.

During my visit to Sun Yat-sen University on 11th to 12th November 2006 to celebrate her 140th Anniversary, I had the opportunity to listen to the talk by Dr. Han Qide, Vice Chairman of the National People¡¦s Congress and also Dean of the Beijing Medical School on ¡§The future of Medical and Health developments in China¡¨. The problem in China, according to Dr. Han, is ¡§It is difficult for citizens to have their diseases managed, AND it is more difficult for citizens to get attended by doctors when needed!¡¨ I was impressed by his determination to make a drastic proposal of ¡§To guarantee every Chinese citizen to have basic Medical Protection¡¨ in a few years time. He advocated ten measures in the National People¡¦s Congress for such a move. Among those measures, I was also impressed by his determination to wipe out (a) ¡§Red Pocket Practice¡¨ in the hospitals, and (b) extra charges for extra measures delivered like IV drip for minor ailments in the Out Patient Clinics.

Together with the proposal of mainland doctors going for specialisation, it seems that there would be revolutionary changes in the Medical and Health Care Systems in the Mainland in the near future. Where should we stand then? First, we have to improve our medical skills; second, in order to survive, we should build Hong Kong to become a Medical Hub in Asia as stated in my message in our 40th Anniversary Commemorative Publication. Only in that way can we have a major say in letting people coming here for medical treatment from the North and elsewhere.

See you in our 40th Anniversary Dinner on 25th December 2006 and Merry Christmas to you all!

Dr. Yeung Chiu Fat Henry