Guizhou makes major effort to fight hypertension

Guizhou province is establishing professional centers for hypertension prevention and treatment at all its townships and communities across the province, laying a foundation for the public to access standard medical care for the chronic disease.

The centers will be able to intervene in all cases related to patients with high blood pressure, including treatment of cardiovascular disease, said Yu Zhenqiu, director of the Guizhou Center for Hypertension Diagnosis and Treatment and the hypertension department of the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. Yu helped design and construct the provincial blueprint for hypertension prevention and treatment.

"The centers will significantly expand capacity for treatment," Yu said. "They will improve the abilities and effectiveness of local specialists to serve patients by providing ongoing training programs."

For a long time, skewed distribution of quality medical resources — particularly human talent — has resulted in limited access to health are for many people, particularly in rural and disadvantaged areas of the country.

Guizhou, with a population of more than 36 million people in southwestern China, has long been deemed a relatively poor province lacking quality medical resources.

Worse, because of their high-salt diet, nearly 30 percent of adults in the province have high blood pressure, according to the provincial health authorities.

To help change the situation, Yu came in 2017 and helped set up Guizhou Center For Hypertension Prevention and Treatment to train doctors in how to intervene.

Yu said making changes at the grassroots level is the key for effective hypertension control.

"The centers are committed to building capability through the targeted training of local medical professionals," he said.

Three years later, the model has successfully expanded at the township level across the province. Now there is a pool of competent hypertension control and prevention specialists.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee has been working to advance the building of a healthy China, from issuing the Healthy China 2030 blueprint in 2016 to promulgating an action plan in July this year for implementing the Healthy China Initiative from 2019 to 2030.

In addition, there has been a focus on solving problems related to the accessibility and affordability of medical services and striving to ensure people's access to medical services.

With all that, a new picture of a healthy China has been drawn up step by step.

In addition, a new law promoting basic medical and healthcare took effect on June 1, recognizing the ultimate goal of healthcare and promotion is to better ensure people's health.

Yu, the hypertension expert, said health is necessary for prosperity and happiness.

"As the centers have reached the grassroots level of the province, they will help greatly with enforcement of the law as well," he said.

Currently, the nation is seeing great success in its fight against poverty, with the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and driving toward modernization.

Poverty caused by the high cost of medical treatment has been a key focus during the process. Protecting the health of patients with chronic diseases will help them shake off poverty and contribute to national construction and development, experts said.