Statistics
2009 Health Manpower Survey on Doctors
Key Findings
1. The doctors covered in the 2009 HMS were doctors registered* with the Medical Council of Hong Kong on the resident list† under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Chapter 161) as at the survey reference date – 31.8.2009.
2. The number of doctors covered in the 2009 HMS was 11 495.
3. Of the 11 495 doctors covered, 8 018 had responded to the survey, giving an overall response rate of 69.8%. Of the 8 018 responding doctors, 6 925 (86.4%) were economically active‡§ (“active”) while 1 093 (13.6%) reported to be economically inactive‡║ (“inactive”) in the local medical profession (See Chart).
4. Of the 6 925 active doctors, 6 900 (99.6%) were practising in the local medical profession, 14 (0.2%) were seeking jobs in the local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey and 11 (0.2%) were believing no work available, expecting to return to their original jobs or waiting to take up new jobs in the local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey.
5. The survey findings presented below were based on the 6 900 responding doctors who were practising in the local medical profession as at 31.8.2009. As some questionnaires contained missing information, percentages presented below may not add up to 100%.
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(i) |
138 doctors did not indicate their sex. Of the remaining 6 762 active doctors enumerated, 4 844 (71.6%) were male, 1 918 (28.4%) were female, giving an overall sex ratio (males per 100 females) of 253. 116 doctors did not indicate their age. The median age of the remaining 6 784 active doctors enumerated was 45.0 years. |
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(ii) |
Distribution by sector of the main job¶ showed that 3 388 (49.1%) were working in the private sector, followed by 2 911 (42.2%) in the Hospital Authority, 348 (5.0%) in the Government, 189 (2.7%) in the academic sector and 30 (0.4%) in the subvented sector. |
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(iii) |
63.3% spent most of their working time on specialist practice, followed by 33.2% on general practice, 2.3% on administration / management and 0.4% on teaching / education. |
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(iv) |
The median hours of work (excluding meal breaks) per week of the 6 900 active doctors enumerated was 48.0 hours. 3 146 (45.6%) doctors were required to undertake on-call duty in their posts, with a median of 20.0 hours of on-call duty (outside normal working hours) per week. |
6. Among the 1 093 inactive doctors (See Chart).
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(i) |
550 doctors reported practising overseas and 23 doctors reported practising in the Mainland. |
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(ii) |
520 doctors reported not practising in the medical profession in Hong Kong and not seeking job in the local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey. The reasons reported for not seeking job included: 397 (76.3%) were retired, 43 (8.3%) wanted to take rest / having no motive to work / having no financial need, 35 (6.7%) were working in other professions, 27 (5.2%) were engaged in household duties, 9 (1.7%) emigrated and 9 (1.7%) were undertaking study. |
* Refers to doctors registered in Part I of the Medical Register maintained by the Medical Council of Hong Kong under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Chapter 161). These included doctors who held Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery issued in Hong Kong (MBBS (HK) / MBChB (CUHK)), Licentiate of Medical Council of Hong Kong (LMCHK) or other overseas qualification registered with the Medical Council of Hong Kong.
† As the 2009 Health Manpower Survey only aimed at covering all doctors practising in Hong Kong, doctors on the non-resident list of the Medical Register were excluded from the survey.
‡ In the survey, the criteria used in defining economically active / inactive follow those recommended by the International Labour Organisation, which are also being used by the Census and Statistics Department in Hong Kong.
§ “Economically active” doctors comprised all “employed” and “unemployed” doctors. “Employed” doctors referred to those doctors practising in the medical profession in Hong Kong during the survey period, while “unemployed” doctors referred to those doctors who (a) were not practising in the local medical 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 local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey.
║ “Economically inactive” doctors comprised the doctors who were not practising in the medical 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 job refers to the jobs in which the doctors had spent most of their working time.
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Activity Status of Doctors Covered |
| Of the 11 495 doctors covered, 8 018 (69.8%) had responded to the survey, while the remaining 3 477 (30.2%) had not responded. Among the respondents, 6 925 (86.4%) were active in the local medical profession whereas 1 093 (13.6%) reported to be inactive in the local medical profession. Among the 6 925 active doctors, 6 900 (99.6%) were practising in the local medical profession, 14 (0.2%) (a) were not practising in the medical 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 medical profession during the 30 days before the survey and the remaining 11 (0.2%) (a) were not practising in the medical profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey and (c) were believing no work available, expected to return to their original jobs or waiting to take up new job in the local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey. Of the 1 093 inactive doctors, 550 (50.3%) reported practising overseas, 23 (2.1%) reported practising in the Mainland and 520 (47.6%) reported not practising in the medical profession in Hong Kong and not seeking job in the local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey. Of these 520 inactive doctors, 397 (76.3%) reported retired, 43 (8.3%) wanted to take rest / having no motive to work / having no financial need, 35 (6.7%) reported working in other professions, 27 (5.2%) were engaged in household duties, 9 (1.7%) reported emigrated and the remaining 9 (1.7%) were undertaking study. Percentage may not add up to 100% due to rounding |
| Notes﹕ | * | Figure refers to the number of responding doctors who (a) were not practising in the medical 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 local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey. |
| † | Figure refers to the number of responding doctors who (a) were not practising in the medical profession in Hong Kong during the survey period; (b) had been available for work during the seven days before the survey; and (c) were believing no work available, expecting to return to their original jobs or waiting to take up new jobs in the local medical profession during the 30 days before the survey. | |
| Percentage may not add up to 100% due to rounding. |
Department of Health
The Government of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region
13 August 2010