Shenzhen?City in?south China's Guangdong Province experienced the hottest
days of the year this past weekend, resulting in a sharp increase
in the number of outpatients in hospitals.
The city's weather observatory recorded the maximum temperature
of 36.1 degrees Celsius in Buji Subdistrict of Longgang yesterday
and 36.3 degrees Celsius in Wutong Village in Luohu on Saturday. It
issued its first high temperature warning this year Saturday noon,
and did not remove the warning until seven hours later.
The hot weather resulted in a sharp rise in the number of
outpatients at Beijing University Shenzhen Hospital, the biggest
public hospital in Futian District.
"The number of patients (at the transfusion zone) doubled
today," said a nurse at the hospital's transfusion area Saturday
night.
On Saturday night, the transfusion area of the hospital was so
crowded that even emergency patients had to wait for more than one
hour before receiving transfusion.
A man anxious to have his sick son treated shouted loudly at the
hospital staff, who had to call police to calm him down. The
hospital had to add extra hands to the transfusion area at about
8:30 p.m.
But a young mother said the waiting time at Beijing University
Shenzhen Hospital was much shorter than at Shenzhen Children's
Hospital, also in Futian District. "When we went to the children's
hospital, we were told that over 300 people were queuing in front
of us," she said. The desperate mother took her son to Beijing
University Shenzhen Hospital instead.
Shenzheners will get some relief from the scorching heat this
week, however, according to the observatory.
The maximum temperature today will be 33 degrees Celsius but
will drop to 30 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday,
according to the observatory. Showers will also cool down the city
in the first half of this week.
(Shenzhen Daily June 25, 2007)
