The Beijing Municipal Public Health Bureau has
prioritized an investigation and study into regulations for a chief
public health officer (CPHO) this year, after which a detailed plan
will be worked out.
After the SARS
(severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003, Dong
Xiaoping, a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference, submitted a
proposal to carry out a feasibility study on adopting a CPHO
system.
In it, he said the outbreak not only revealed that
Beijing lagged behind in facilities to deal with an epidemic, but
also the absence of a scientific public health system. “Therefore,
when massive public health events happen, it is not public health
specialists but governmental officers or even leaders who are
responsible for taking measures to deal with them,” said Dong.
In developed countries, outbreaks or emergent
public health events are announced to the public by public health
officers, who can determine relevant measures. In some countries,
chief public health officers also have the right to instruct other
government departments in dealing with events.
“However in China, this is done by chief executives
in health departments or government leaders,” said Dong, adding
that it was not credible to see an executive officer addressing the
public with medical terminology unfamiliar to him or her when an
epidemic as severe as SARS breaks out.
In response to Dong’s proposal, the Municipal
Health Bureau decided to put the investigation into CPHO
regulations on the top of this year’s working plan.
The study will focus on the qualifications and
responsibility of a CPHO and the appointment process, and if there
is sufficient demonstration of need, the bureau will submit a plan
to the municipal government.
(China.org.cn by
Zhang Tingting, May 25, 2005)