Hong Kong medics disheartened by political pressure in hospi

Paul and Kathy never imagined they would one day be studying late into the night, hours after their work shifts ended, to prepare to obtain medical qualifications overseas so they can leave Hong Kong for good. Even though he has long been qualified to practise as an emergency room doctor in Hong Kong, Paul has recently been spending another three to four hours revising medical textbooks, after his work shift at a public hospital ended.He hopes to obtain the equivalent qualification in emergency medicine in the UK, so he can obtain full registration there as a doctor and thus have the option to immigrate. For fear of retribution, Paul and Kathy, who do not know each other, spoke with HKFP under assumed names about their plans to move overseas. In the past year of sometimes violent street protests, Paul said there had been times when he could not carry out his responsibilities as a doctor properly, which made him deeply uncomfortable. “For police custody cases, for example, if you stand your ground for the patient, they [the police] could call it obstruction,” he said. Officers escorting a patient would often refuse to step out of the examination room or allow curtains to be drawn when a doctor conducts their examination, especially if the patient had been arrested and injured during a protest, said Paul.“If you ask the patients questions in front of other people, it will affect their answers and the diagnosis. It’s a medical, not a police interview,” Paul said. Injured protesters feared giving out incriminating information, especially their causes of injury, if police were present during the examination. At the height of the protests in late summer last year, arrests were made inside hospitals, as police sought out those wounded by tear gas canisters or batons. The fear of arrest drove some injured protesters away from public hospitals to seek underground medical treatment. “The Hospital Authority (HA) has issued policies saying that you could discuss [situations] with supervisors,” Paul said. “But the reality is your supervisor won’t support you as you try to stand up to three police officers having custody over a patient.” “You try to defend your patient’s rights – you know what’s right for the patient, you know this is wrong, but there is nothing you could do about it,” he said. There were occasions when Paul felt it was necessary to defer treatment for an arrested patient and admit them to a ward instead. He would wait until late at night to speak with the patient once police guarding them had gone for a break.Failure to offer a patient strict confidentiality during a medical interview and examination could amount to negligence. “The stress is big,” Paul said. “For us at the hospital’s front door service, this is on an every-other-day basis. It’s a very visible experience to me.” Kathy, a nurse at the government’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, had similar views. “As a nurse, I could see how many of the protesters were injured from being beaten,” she said. “It’s much more of a reality to see that in person than online.”“To think that the police have no accountability, I think it’s [Hong Kong] not a great place for my own future and if I have children.” When Paul studied to become an emergency room doctor, he was prepared to stay within Hong Kong’s public health care system, as private hospitals typically do not offer full emergency services. He was ready to work longer hours for lower pay, but mounting political pressure – and an increasing sense of hopelessness about the city’s future – might just be the last straw. Paul said he knew of around ten other doctors of varying seniority who are currently taking steps to obtain registration overseas.Doctors who graduated in Hong Kong before the handover in 1997 would already be registered with the UK General Medical Council and could reinstate their status upon application. Some mid-career specialists-in-training, such as those in internal medicine, radiology and paediatrics, would also be able to practise in the UK without additional exams, Paul said. However, Paul would have to retake his emergency medicine qualification exams before he could practice in the UK. He will have to pass three papers (to be taken online, due to the Covid-19 pandemic) and one clinical exam, in two to three years’ time. Once qualified, he would be granted full registration and would be able to seek employment and a sponsored work visa with the National Health Service, even though i