2015 Health Manpower Survey on Enrolled Nurse
Key Findings
1. The enrolled nurses covered in the 2015 Health Manpower Survey (HMS) were nursing personnel enrolled in any part of the roll under the Nurses Registration Ordinance (Chapter 164) as at the survey reference date - 31.8.2015.
2. The number of enrolled nurses covered was 12 309.
3. Of the 12 309 enrolled nurses covered, 4 074 responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 33.1%. Of the 4 074 responding enrolled nurses, 3 435 (84.3%) were economically active* † (active) whereas 639 (15.7%) reported that they were economically inactive* ‡ (inactive) in the local nursing / midwifery profession ( See Chart ) .
4. Of the 3 435 active enrolled nurses enumerated, 3 338 (97.2%) were practising in the local nursing / midwifery profession, 58 (1.7%) were seeking jobs, 20 (0.6%) had not been available for work because of temporary sickness, and 19 (0.6%) believed that work was not available, were waiting to take up a new job in the local nursing / midwifery profession or expecting to return to their original jobs in local nursing / midwifery profession during the 30 days before the survey.
5. The survey findings presented below were based on the 3 338 responding enrolled nurses who were practising in the local nursing / midwifery profession as at 31.8.2015. As some questionnaire items had missing responses, percentages presented below may not add up to 100%.
(i) |
One active enrolled nurse did not indicate the gender. Among the remaining 3 337 active enrolled nurses enumerated, 316 (9.5%) were male and 3 021 (90.5%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 10. Apart from 79 active enrolled nurses did not indicate their age, the median age of the remaining 3 259 active enrolled nurses enumerated was 41.0 years. |
(ii) |
Distribution by sector of the main job § showed that 1 333 (39.9%) active enrolled nurses enumerated were working in the Hospital Authority, followed by 1 141 (34.2%) in the private sector, 671 (20.1%) in the subvented sector, 171 (5.1%) in the Government and 18 (0.5%) in the academic sector. |
(iii) |
21.4% spent most of their working time on residential care, followed by 14.3% on geriatrics, 12.1% on medicine, 10.7% on surgery, 9.6% on ambulatory care / outpatients, 9.0% on mental health / psychiatry / addiction treatment, 4.9% on rehabilitation, 2.9% on paediatrics, 2.8% working as visiting nurse and 2.1% on public health. |
(iv) |
The median number of hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 3 338 active enrolled nurses enumerated was 44.0 hours. Among them, 302 (9.0%) enrolled nurses were required to undertake on call duty (excluding normal duty), with a median of 8.0 hours of on-call duty (excluding normal duty) per week. |
* In the survey, the criteria used in defining economically active / inactive followed those recommended by the International Labour Organization, which are also being used by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong.
† "Economically active" enrolled nurse comprised all "employed" and "unemployed" enrolled nurses. "Employed" enrolled nurse referred to those enrolled nurses practising in the nursing / midwifery profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, while "unemployed" enrolled nurse referred to those enrolled nurses who (a) were not practising in the local nursing / midwifery profession during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey and (c) had sought work in the nursing / midwifery profession during the 30 days before the survey.
‡ "Economically inactive" enrolled nurse comprised the responding enrolled nurses who were not practising in the nursing / midwifery profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, but excluding those who had been on leave during the survey period and those who were "economically active" but "unemployed".
§ Main jobs referred to the jobs in which the enrolled nurses had spent most of their working time.
6. Among the 639 inactive enrolled nurses ( See Chart ) .
(i) |
578 enrolled nurses reported not practising in the nursing / midwifery profession in Hong Kong and not seeking job in the local nursing / midwifery profession during the 30 days before the survey. The reasons reported for not seeking job included: 282 (48.8%) were retired, 120 (20.8%) were engaged in household duties, 90 (15.6%) were working in other professions, 53 (9.2%) wanted to take a rest / had no motive to work / had no financial need, etc. |
(ii) |
56 enrolled nurses reported practising overseas and five reported practising in the Mainland. |
Activity Status of Enrolled Nurses Covered |
Notes﹕ | * | Figure refers to the number of responding enrolled nurses who (a) were not practising in the nursing / midwifery profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) had sought work in the nursing / midwifery profession during the 30 days before the survey. |
† | Figure refers to the number of responding enrolled nurses who (a) were not practising in the nursing / midwifery profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had not been available for work during the seven days before the survey, and (c) believed that work was not available, were waiting to take up a new job in the local nursing / midwifery profession or expecting to return to their original jobs in local nursing / midwifery profession during the 30 days before the survey. | |
§ | Figure refers to the number of responding enrolled nurses who were emigrated, undertaking study, etc. | |
Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. |