Guizhou aims to improve medical services

Hospitals assign nurses to help senior citizens with making doctor's appointments. [Photo/ddcpc website]

In recent years, the Guizhou Provincial Health Commission in Southwest China's Guizhou province has been making strong efforts to promote the construction of a healthy Guizhou and improve the overall quality of healthcare.

The number of tertiary public hospitals in the province has risen from 47 to 71 and the number of primary healthcare institutions has increased from 26,737 to 27,282. More beds have been made available, with the total number rising from 202,900 to 310,300. The number of beds per thousand permanent residents has increased from 6.51 to approximately 8.05.

The province has established a three-tier system of disease control institutions at the provincial, municipal and county levels, critical care centers for pregnant women and newborns, and emergency medical rescue systems covering the entire province. Both the number of reported occupational diseases and detection rates have continuously decreased for the past six years. Guizhou has also become the ninth province in China to eliminate malaria.

Guizhou has achieved basic medical treatment for all, and a monitoring, early warning, and assistance mechanism has been established. Disease classification and treatment measures have been optimized as well, ensuring that no one falls back into poverty due to illness.

All markups on drugs and medical consumables have been abolished, and reforms in compensation systems and performance assessments have been fully implemented in Guizhou's public hospitals.

Four national regional medical centers have been planned and established in Guiyang and Guian, and one each in Zunyi and Bijie. These centers are expected to improve the overall capacity and quality of medical services in the province.

A total of 134 county-level medical communities have been established as well, along with 50 county-level medical sub-centers and 40 pediatric intensive care units. The financial allowance for village doctors has been increased by 200 yuan ($28.03) per person per month, with a total provincial subsidy amounting to 37.08 million yuan.