Secretary for Health attends opening ceremony of Shenzhen standardized specialist training of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Medical Specialist Training Centre (with photos)
12.10.2023

The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, attended the opening ceremony of Shenzhen standardized specialist training of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Medical Specialist Training Centre (Training Centre) in Shenzhen today (October 12) to witness the moment which marked an important milestone in the co-operation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong on nurturing medical specialists. In a drive to develop quality healthcare services in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and explore ways to improve the co-ordination mechanism on cross-boundary medical services, the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (HKAM) joined hands with the Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission, Shenzhen Medical Doctor Association and the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital (HKU-SZH) in 2019 to establish the Training Centre at HKU-SZH. The Training Centre leverages Hong Kong's strengths in nurturing internationalised medical talent with a view to setting up in the Mainland a system that is on par with international practice in training medical specialists for enhancing the competency of Mainland medical professionals and quality of healthcare services. At present, the Training Centre offers training in seven specialties, namely clinical oncology, nephrology, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, general paediatrics, neurosurgery and anaesthesiology. A total of 12 hospitals in Shenzhen are engaged as pilot sites for training. Addressing the ceremony, Professor Lo stated that standardising the specialist training in Shenzhen embodies the close co-operation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong in the realm of medical education and the joint effort in exploring the setting up of a standardised specialist training framework which is on par with international practice and recognised by the Mainland at the same time. He said, "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is strenuously promoting healthcare exchange and collaboration between the Mainland and Hong Kong at different levels to push forward the enhancement to the co-ordination mechanism on cross-boundary medical services. Riding on the specialist training model and experience of the HKAM and taking into account the practical situation in the Mainland, the Training Centre exemplifies the seamless co-operation between the two places through the building of a standardised specialist training framework which is on par with international practice and recognised by the Mainland. This also serves as a pioneer demonstration in fostering the nurturing of medical talent in Shenzhen, the GBA and the nation as a whole. "Along with increasing specialist training opportunities provided by the Training Centre and its further development, significant enhancement to GBA's specialist medical care can be expected, thus benefiting the general public and contributing to the construction of 'Healthy China'." Professor Lo looks forward to more in-depth exchanges between healthcare professionals of the Mainland and Hong Kong that would set the stage for steady development of the nation's and the GBA's healthcare sectors under the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits as well as on the premise of benefiting the healthcare development of both the Mainland and Hong Kong.