| 24-53 Conditions of Public Health | ||||||
| Item | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
| Number of Registered Healthcare Professionals①(persons) | ||||||
| Doctors | 10731 | 11016 | 11242 | 11505 | 11739 | |
| Chinese Medicine Practitioners | ||||||
| Registered Chinese Medicine Practitioners② | 2385 | 4738 | 4986 | 5133 | 5268 | |
| Chinese Medicine Practitioners with Limited | 49 | 58 | 55 | 61 | 68 | |
| Registration③ | ||||||
| Listed Chinese Medicine Practitioners④ | 5484 | 3227 | 3015 | 2957 | 2897 | |
| Dentists⑤ | 1907 | 1848 | 1896 | 1941 | 1976 | |
| Pharmacists | 1414 | 1457 | 1517 | 1583 | 1649 | |
| Nurses⑥ | 43383 | 43782 | 44402 | 35465 | 36444 | |
| Doctors per Thousand Population | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.7@ | |
| Number of Medical Institutions and Hospital Beds | ||||||
| Medical Institutions (number) | 98 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 103 | |
| Hospital Beds (beds) | 35159 | 35526 | 34400 | 34119 | 34532 | |
| Beds per Thousand Population | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0@ | |
| Notes : Figures are as at end of the year stated. | ||||||
| The Population By-census conducted in July to August 2006 provides a benchmark for revising the population figures compiled since the 2001 | ||||||
| Population Census. In the above table, population-related figures from 2002 to 2005 have been revised accordingly. | ||||||
| ①Statistics on the registered healthcare professionals are maintained by the Medical Council for Doctors, Chinese Medical Council of Hong | ||||||
| Kong for Chinese Medicine Practitioners, Dental Council for Dentists, Pharmacy and Poisons Board for Pharmacists, and Nursing Council | ||||||
| for Nurses. Annual renewal of practising certificate is required only for doctors, dentists and pharmacists. Registered Chinese medicine | ||||||
| practitioners (CMPs) and nurses are required to renew the practising certificates every three years. Figures for doctors/dentists refer to | ||||||
| the doctors/dentists with full registration on both the local and overseas lists. Figures for nurses refer to registered nurses and enrolled | ||||||
| nurses. | ||||||
| ②After full implementation of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance, all CMPs should be registered before they can practise Chinese medicine in | ||||||
| Hong Kong. Any person who wishes to be a registered CMP should have satisfactorily completed an approved undergraduate degree | ||||||
| course of training in Chinese medicine practice, take and pass the Licensing Examination. | ||||||
| ③CMPs with limited registration are allowed to perform clinical teaching and research in Chinese medicine in the specified educational and | ||||||
| scientific research institutions. The registration period of CMPs with limited registration should not exceed one year and they cannot engage | ||||||
| in private practice with patients. | ||||||
| ④Listed CMPs can practise lawfully in Hong Kong under the transitional arrangements for registration of CMPs until a date to be announced | ||||||
| by the Secretary for Food and Health in the Gazette. Listed CMPs may become registered CMPs through direct registration, registration | ||||||
| assessment or licensing examination during the transitional arrangements. | ||||||
| ⑤In accordance with Section 15(3) of the Dentists Registration Ordinance, Cap. 156 Laws of Hong Kong, the names of 154 registered dentists | ||||||
| were removed from the register in 2003. Offsetting by 95 new dentists registered in 2003, there was a net decrease of 59 dentists in that year. | ||||||
| ⑥The number of nurses had dropped in 2005 due to the removal of names of more than 9000 nurses from the register/roll in Section7(3)(e) | ||||||
| and Section 13(3)(e) of the Nurses Registration Ordinance, Cap. 164 Laws of Hong Kong. | ||||||