Hong Kong has announced plans to build a third medical school, and the University of Science and Technology, City University and Polytechnic University have expressed their interest.
Two patients’ groups conducted a survey of 537 people in the past month, involving chronically ill patients or the disabled, as well as caregivers.
According to the Patients’ Alliance On Healthcare Reform and the Alliance for Patients’ Mutual Help Organizations, the respondents emphasised the importance of better training for doctors, especially on the use of Chinese medicine and on handling patients with special needs such as those with autism.
The Patients’ Alliance On Healthcare Reform said because of a lack of centralised training, patients with different levels of autism often need to go from doctor to doctor, which is time-consuming and inconvenient.
The group also said in light of a recent spate of medical incidents, the new medical school should increase research on technology to help prevent blunders in future.
According to the study, the new medical school should also be closely connected with international medical institutions and complement Hong Kong’s two existing medical schools.
Local universities interested in running the new medical school are to submit their proposals by March 17, and a member of the Patients’ Alliance On Healthcare Reform, Theresa Chu, urged the universities to take their findings into consideration.
‘We hope that our information and our analysis would be given just in time to highlight what are the expectations of the patients’ groups and also the general community, with regard to what they’re going to deliver in the future.
“Maybe they will reassess, or adjust, or modify their approach, and this will likely (allow them to rethink) to present a more comprehensive picture to the assessment board,’ Chu said.
