In Nanjing, quality healthcare comes closer to home

By signing cooperation agreements with top-tier hospitals in Jiangsu province, the Qixia district government in Nanjing has introduced high-quality medical resources that give residents access to excellent healthcare in their own neighborhoods, a local official said.

"The initiative represents an innovative leadership in healthcare reform," said Wang Yingsong, director of the health commission in the district. "It effectively addresses the long-standing issue of difficulties and distance in providing high-quality medical care to the general public."

Xigang Community Health Service Center in the Qixia district stands as a typical example that proves the effectiveness of the cooperation model.

Gao Huihua, director of the community hospital, said it used to have very few patients, with only 50 outpatient visits in the entire year of 2014. Most of the nearby residents had to travel more than 20 kilometers to larger hospitals for medical treatment.

Thanks to the collaborative model, doctors from prominent provincial hospitals regularly visit the community hospital to provide medical consultations and treatments. The community hospital also sends medical personnel to the larger hospitals for training to improve their professional skills.

Gao said that because of the connecting mechanism, in emergencies patients can be easily referred from the community hospital to larger hospitals without any barriers. Once the critical period is over, a patient can be transferred back to the community hospital for further care, which in turn helps alleviate the pressure on major hospitals.

To serve the needs of the aging population in the area, Xigang Community Health Service Center has established a specialized outpatient clinic for chronic diseases, where designated doctors hold regular consultations at fixed times for the elderly.

"The approach helps foster stable and friendly doctor-patient relationships," Gao said.

Since the first cooperation agreement between the Qixia district government and the top hospitals in the province was signed in 2013, healthcare in the district has been continuously improving, said Wang, the health commissioner.

For the Xigang center, the number of medical staffers has increased from 29 in 2014 to 91 this year, and the number of patients has steadily risen. At the same time, patient satisfaction and doctors' sense of fulfillment have also been continuously improving, Gao said.

"It's a win-win," she added.

Community hospitals play an irreplaceable role in disease prevention and rehabilitation, which can improve people's sense of well-being and quality of life, Wang said.