With age comes degeneration. It does not need anything more than common sense to realize that the demographic shifts resulting from an increasingly aging population have added to the mounting concerns that Hong Kong needs to train more doctors and dentists to lift the healthcare sector out of the manpower quagmire. In response to these challenges, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) recently announced its plan to establish the city’s third medical school. Some scientists and scholars said the move could prove a catalyst for developing the city into a biomedical hub. Besides discussing the above plan, we will also examine whether Hong Kong should build a second dental school in the near future.
There remains much debate about the pros and cons of building a third medical school. On the positive side, it would allow the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government to move closer to the goal of shortening the waiting time for general consultation in public hospitals. Although a new school would not provide a panacea for mitigating the shortage of doctors in public hospitals, it would relieve the pressure exerted on them. Hopefully, it would prevent innocent lives from slipping through the “manpower deficit” cracks of our healthcare system. Politically speaking, a third medical school would be a legitimacy booster because of the strong message — that the HKSAR government is determined to provide a better, vibrant and accessible healthcare system for residents.
Moreover, there is no better time than now to give additional support to the biomedical sector. According to lawmaker Chen Chung-nin, also an HKUST council member, a medical school would help produce talent for developing biomedicine and medical innovation. It is worthy of note that Shanghai has already made great strides in attracting, supporting and retaining biotech companies, making it the biopharmaceutical Silicon Valley of China. Hong Kong should not lag behind.
The highly competitive fundraising facilities provided by Hong Kong’s financial market may pave the way for a gold-digging journey for quality biomedical companies in the city. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd helps strengthen the city’s biomedical ecosystem with its liberal regulations for listing pre-revenue biotech firms. According to InvestHK, this has marked an important milestone for Hong Kong’s advance into an international finance platform for the biomedical sector.
Responding to the above problem, our think tank proposes setting up a self-funded dental school in the city, with an emphasis on clinical practice
On the negative side, Philip Chiu Wai-yan, dean of the medical school of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), raised concerns about the feasibility of establishing a third medical school. He questioned whether the city possessed adequate resources, teaching staff, teaching materials and support from the Hospital Authority for an additional medical school, The Standard reported. Since the HKUST intends to collaborate with an experienced European university to develop curricula for the new medical school, we remain optimistic that the “LKC model” of Singapore may provide inspiration for the HKUST to find a viable way out of the perceived difficulties highlighted by Chiu.
The “LKC model” refers to the collaboration between the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKC Medicine) and Imperial College London of the UK. LKC Medicine is the third medical school in the city-state. The curriculum of LKC Medicine is based closely on Imperial’s curriculum, but with adaptations to suit Singapore’s needs, according to The Straits Times. While the need to train more doctors for Singapore was the driver behind the development of LKC Medicine, research will play an even more important role as the school evolves, Imperial News reported. Similarly, the third medical school in Hong Kong also puts an emphasis on science and research, according to the South China Morning Post.
Concerning the dental school, the dentistry program offered by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) ranks third in the world, according to the QS World’s University Rankings by Subject 2023. But the demographic shifts toward a silver society have also turned the problem of “dentist deficit” into a focal point of mass anxiety in the city. At present, the Faculty of Dentistry of HKU has limited capacity to train more dentists in the foreseeable future. As a result of the mismatch between the supply of and demand for dentists, residents are suffering from rising dental costs. Without an alternative, some go to dental clinics in Shenzhen to save costs. Furthermore, residents in Kowloon and the New Territories find it inconvenient to travel to the Prince Philip Dental Hospital in Sai Ying Pun for access to more-complicated dental treatments.
Responding to the above problem, our think tank proposes setting up a self-funded dental school in the city, with an emphasis on clinical practice. The primary entrance requirement would be a first degree with a biochemical background. Designed as a four-year full-time dental course, the curriculum would require students to spend 1.5 years on preclinical studies and 2.5 years on clinical studies. The curriculum would consist of compulsory and optional modules. Students would have sufficient practice during the 2.5 years of clinical studies to enable them to meet the required quota of treatment. The class size would be limited to 20 to 25 students. To provide a flexible learning mode for different types of students, the new dental school would also provide a six-year part-time course for students with a tight schedule.
The new dental school would aim at forging a working partnership with the Faculty of Medicine of the CUHK for the provision of preclinical courses. Local and overseas dental teachers would be recruited for the Department of Clinical Studies. Most importantly, the new dental school would aim to get accreditation from the Hong Kong Dental Council.
Frederick Chu is dental services senior consultant of Chinese Dream Think Tank, and was previously the assistant dean and clinical associate professor of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Hong Kong.
Kacee Ting Wong is a barrister, a part-time researcher of Shenzhen University Hong Kong and Macao Basic Law Research Center, chairman of Chinese Dream Think Tank, and a district councilor.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
