National health body expands pediatric services to nearly all hospitals

More than 80 percent of grassroots medical institutions and 98 percent of county-level hospitals are now capable of providing pediatric services, a health official said on Friday.

Li Dachuan, deputy director of the National Health Commission's medical administration department, added that nearly 8,000 general hospitals across the nation can offer pediatric care.

Meanwhile, more than 300 children's hospitals or major hospitals with a pediatric clinic have led the establishment of pediatrics-centered medical partnerships with grassroots medical institutions, he said.

Expanding pediatric services is among eight healthcare initiatives that the commission has pledged to implement this year to address common grievances of the public and improve their satisfaction of healthcare.

The eight tasks also include boosting mental health support and dialysis services, as well as promoting mutual recognition of medical examination results.

Li said that psychological clinics are now available in 330 municipal-level regions and sleep disorder clinics have been set up in 324 such regions.

Since May 1, all 31 provincial-level regions across China have launched the 12356 mental health hotline, answering 500,000 calls. The nation has also organized more than 4,600 mental health lectures, reaching more than 900,000 people, he said.

Li added that more than 200 medical testing items are now mutually recognized across 312 city-level regions.

Regarding dialysis services, 1,614 county-level regions with a population of over 100,000 can now provide local treatment. The remaining eight areas without this capacity are working toward the goal by upgrading infrastructure and training medical personnel.

"These projects are on track," Li said, adding the commission will continue to meet targets and better serve the public.

Xi Zhimiao contributed to the story.