Hong Kong to increase pool of doctors with third medical school in Northern Metropolis

Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to increase the city’s pool of doctors by developing a third medical school in the Northern Metropolis, while also promising to lower the cost of medicines in public hospitals and community pharmacies.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled a wide-range of health measures in his third policy address on Wednesday, from expanding a streamlined drug registration mechanism to launching community pharmacies and introducing screening programmes for people who have higher risks of certain cancers.

“The government supports the plan, by local universities, to establish a third medical school, increasing the number of doctors and supporting the city’s development as an international health‑ and medical‑innovation hub,” Lee said.

Sites at Ngau Tam Mei, located in the university town being planned in Yuen Long as part of the Northern Metropolis development project, would be reserved to establish the new medical school and an integrated teaching and research hospital.

The university town would be expanded from 60 hectares (148 acres) to 80 hectares to accommodate the medical school, a hospital and other facilities, a government source said.

A task group would also be set up to look into the issue, with details of the group to be announced soon and interested universities invited to submit their proposals in the coming months, another source said.