Health minister Lo Chung-mau said on Wednesday that the turnover rate of public hospital healthcare workers fell in the past financial year, compared with the previous 12 months.

But he added that a worrying trend has developed in that the biggest group of doctors leaving are only in their thirties.

The secretary made the comments at a special Legco finance committee meeting on this year's budget.

Lo said the departure rates of full-time doctors, nurses and allied health professionals ranged from 6.1 to 9.5 percent last year, with the highest rate belonging to nurses.

The numbers ranged from 6.9 to 10.9 percent in 2022-23, and 8.1 to 9.4 percent in 2021-22.

However, Lo said unlike in the past when more doctors in their forties and fifties left public hospitals, recent data showed that the biggest group of doctors quitting now are those aged between 30 and 39.

"So we're worried that when young doctors become specialists, they'll leave the public healthcare system. This is the issue we're facing," the minister said.

"We want to encourage young specialists to stay in the public system to serve Hong Kong."

For his part, the chief executive of the Hospital Authority, Tony Ko, said 118 non-locally trained doctors were hired in the last financial year under limited or special registration schemes.

He said the total number is expected to reach 200 by the end of 2024, with the doctors coming from overseas and the mainland.

Meanwhile, several lawmakers asked whether the government could turn medical facilities used to isolate people during the Covid pandemic into temporary housing.

Lo said the facilities are now under the management of an inter-departmental group led by deputy finance chief Michael Wong, and he expects many of them will soon be switched to "non-medical purposes".