Grassroots healthcare institutions ramping up services

Grassroots healthcare institutions have taken measures to monitor the conditions of people most vulnerable to COVID-19 infections and facilitate prompt transfers of severe patients, a grassroots health official said on Monday.

Li Yongjin, head of a community healthcare center in Beijing's Chaoyang district, said during a news briefing that the center has surveyed and assigned color-coded risk levels to susceptible groups based on residents' vaccination status, management of chronic diseases and health conditions of pregnant women and newborns.

Efforts to expand vaccination, promote personal protective measures, and discourage unnecessary stockpiling of drugs have also been persisted, he added.

Li said grassroots medical facilities have ramped up the capacity of first aid vehicles and added medical personnel, so as to ensure that critical patients can be transferred to higher-level hospitals for treatment.

Meanwhile, more fever clinics have been built and online consultation and offline transfer channels between grassroots and larger hospitals have stepped up to ensure prompt treatment for patients in acute condition.