Health facilities in China's rural areas are in poor condition with the chronic shortage of health equipment. More governmental investment is expected and needed to equip grassroots hospitals, said Ma Yuhua in an interview with a reporter from news website of China Economic Net (www.ce.cn).

Ma Yuhua works as a county doctor in the Luojiahewan Village of Wantuan Town in Tongxin County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. She has worked here for 16 years since graduating from a medical school in Guyuan City. Tongxin County has a total of seven townships and 170 villages. Visiting her patients' homes has seen Ma wear out 11 bicycles over the past years.

As a deputy to the 12th National People's Congress, Ma proposed to invest more in resolving the difficulty of grave illness treatment for rural residents, improving medical equipment in rural areas and a resolution for pensions for county doctors.

The government has raised its subsidies for county doctors from 50 yuan (US$8.04) 16 years ago to 500 yuan now. A better medical environment and a sound pension system can attract more medical talent to the area, she said.