Yangzhou to upgrade medical services in rural areas

A series of development plans were recently announced for the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, by the local government, with the aim of providing residents living in the city's rural areas with convenient, high-quality and reasonably priced medical services.

The grass roots health care reform plans state that by the end of 2020, all the medical service centers in Yangzhou's rural areas should meet the standards of second-class hospitals.

Yangzhou has to date invested 1.13 billion yuan ($167 million) for 18 rural medical service centers, which were put into use in December 2017.

Huang Weimin, director of the Yangzhou Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission, said urban hospitals have been instrumental in the development of the rural clinics.

One such example of this is the fact that the Subei People's Hospital and Yangzhou First People's Hospital, two highly regarded local medical establishments, have included some of their rural counterparts, such as one located in Tangwang county, in a medical treatment alliance, where ideas and resources will be exchanged.

Statistics show that the rural clinic saw a surge in its operating revenue in 2017, up 152.8 percent compared to that of 2015. The numbers of inpatients and outpatients also increased by 235.9 percent and 83.5 percent respectively, in the same time period.

Special funds from Yangzhou government have also been made available for the recruitment of highly-skilled professionals and the establishment of a multi-tiered diagnosis and treatment system to support the development of rural medical service centers.

Additionally, with the help of internet technology, local residents can now get a diagnosis from specialists through remote diagnosis systems at a local medical service center.