HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 18 January 1989
香港立法局 ——————一九八九年一月十八日
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SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER: Sir, the view we have reached so far, and this has also been supported by the Committee of the Labour Advisory Board, is that we do not really need legislation.
Qualifications of doctors for Vietnamese centres
2. MR. BARROW asked: Sir, since non-commonwealth volunteer doctors are presently not permitted to work in Vietnamese refugee centres or Vietnamese boat people detention centres despite there being a vital need for increased medical services in these centres, will Government inform this Council whether a special dispensation could be granted so that volunteer doctors with non- commonwealth qualifications can be given a conditional practising licence to work in the centres?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY: Sir, I apologize for the length of the reply that I am about to give but I thought it would be best to describe the background fully. Apart from Sham Shui Po refugee camp, the medical services in the Vietnamese refugee closed centres and the Vietnamese boat people detention centres are provided by government doctors assisted by other staff from the Medical and Health Department, Auxiliary Medical Services and Correctional Services Department. This is obviously not an ideal situation since it puts an additional strain on the Government's medical services and diverts government doctors from serving the local community.
Under the Statement of Understanding signed between Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on 20 September 1988, the latter agreed to provide medical services at all refugee centres. The Government will continue to provide medical services at Vietnamese detention centres.
The UNHCR has therefore arranged for a Belgian Medical Charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), to take over the medical services in the existing closed centres for refugees. However, although there is a pool of volunteer doctors with qualifications obtained in Belgium, the UNHCR have been informed that these doctors cannot at present practise in Hong Kong since they are not locally registrable under the Medical Registration Ordinance.
Under section 7 of the Medical Registration Ordinance, only persons who hold a Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Irish or recognized Commonwealth diploma are entitled to be registered as medical practitioners in Hong Kong.
The Ordinance provides for certain persons to be exempted from registration: medical practitioners serving in Her Majesty's Forces, ships