Doctors in Shanhai local hospitals are calling the authorities to issue surgery agreements in English for patients from outside China.

Currently, local health authorities only require doctors to present a Chinese surgery agreement to the patient and family members to inform them of the surgery procedure and possible side effects.

Doctors either have to translate the document themselves or explain the content verbally to foreign patients before it is signed.

Dr Zhou Daxin, of Zhongshan Hospital's cardiology department, said with an increasing number of expatriate patients in local hospitals, a legal surgery agreement in English was needed to speed up the medical process.

He said the authorities only required hospitals to have the patient or family member sign a Chinese agreement and each hospital had its own Chinese version and most didn't have an English version. He said both the Chinese and English versions should be in a standard format.

Officials from Shanghai Health Bureau said informing the patient and the family on the surgery and any complications was the hospital's responsibility and a signed agreement was essential before every operation.

"There is no rule that requires a special format of surgery agreement or an English version for foreign patients," said Song Guofan, an official at Shanghai Health Bureau.

Local large hospitals, which expatriate patients usually visit, have come up with a solution.

"All foreign patients in our hospital are transferred to the same department, which provides an English surgery agreement which is translated from Chinese version," said Li Nan, an official from Ruijin Hospital.

For hospitals which don't have an English surgery agreement, their doctors will explain the surgery agreement in English.

"If our foreign patients come with a Chinese family member, we always have the Chinese people sign the surgery agreement," said Xia Lin, from Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

(Shanghai Daily December 24, 2007)