A State Council document on expanding community medical care
services will enable every urban Chinese to be covered by the
service by 2010.
It is expected that by then every city will have established a
complete urban residential community health service system, the
Nanfang Daily reported.
Currently, only a few large and medium-sized cities in China
provide community health services, sources said.
In big cities, every 30,000-50,000 urban residents will have
access to a community health service center within four years. A
number of affiliated offices will also be established in accordance
with requirements of urban residents, said the document.
The document, which will be published soon, was based on a
discussion by the central government with provincial capital and
county-level officials late last month.
Cities in eastern and central areas, as well as provincial
capitals in western regions, are expected to achieve the goal ahead
of 2010.
Meanwhile, rich counties and towns will learn the experiences of
urban community health service providers to strengthen rural
community health services.
The reason why urban residents find it difficult and expensive
to see a doctor is that "residential communities lack health
services" and "big hospitals occupy too many medical facilities and
professions," the document said.
"Community health service is the basis for urban public health.
It should be enjoyed by every urban resident," Chen Jie, a medical
professor at Fudan
University, was quoted as saying.
It is reported that China's public health investment was 0.9
percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), while the
global average is 4 percent. The document stated that urban
community health should be public welfare, rather than
profit-orientated.
Currently, community health service centers have to earn money
by themselves as they lack sufficient government investment.
Local governments have been urged to invest in residential
community health services, instead of merely in big hospitals, the
document said.
As some central and western areas are in poverty, the central
government plans to give financial assistance to them on this
issue.
Urban residents will enjoy basic medical services including
ordinary and frequent disease treatment, as well as public health
services like disease prevention and family planning medical
guidance.
Meanwhile large hospitals will focus on treatment of fatal and
difficult diseases, sources said.
(China Daily January 16, 2006)