Pediatric care cover expanded nationwide

Pediatric care is now available in all major public hospitals across the nation, and dialysis treatment can be provided in every county with a population above 100,000 people, according to the National Health Commission.

Li Dachuan, deputy director of the commission's medical administration department, said at a news conference on Dec 26 that all 4,845 secondary and tertiary public general hospitals — the top two tiers in China's three-tiered hospital system — are equipped to provide pediatric services, allowing children better access to medical care.

"The incidence of seasonal illnesses among children this winter is higher than the previous season, but through coordinated monitoring and scheduling, the average waiting time for pediatric patients has been shortened, with no serious overcrowding or prolonged delays," Li said.

He added that the risk of cross-infection among patients in hospitals has been reduced and overall medical operations remain stable.

Expanding pediatric services is one of the eight key tasks the commission planned to complete last year.

Another priority has been ensuring dialysis services cover every county with a permanent population above 100,000.

"Patients with kidney failure require hemodialysis two to three times a week, with each session lasting about three hours. If such services are unavailable locally, they need to travel long distances, incurring significant transportation costs and time," Li said.

Last year, the commission reallocated resources after it identified 1,071 counties with insufficient dialysis capacity. A collective total of some 700 physicians, 1,900 nurses, more than 7,000 dialysis machines and over 350 water treatment units were sent to these in-need counties.

In addition to improving staffing and equipment levels, more developed regions have provided training and dispatched experienced doctors to these areas to strengthen service quality, standardize procedures and ensure medical safety.

Counties that previously had limited dialysis capacity collectively provided some 28.26 million hemodialysis visits in 2025, Li said.

He added that more than 200 types of test results can now be mutually recognized among hospitals within the same city, and 25 provinces have established online platforms for sharing medical imaging reports.

All municipal-level regions have established at least one psychological counseling facility and one sleep clinic.

Outpatient visits in these two categories rose by 17 percent and 39 percent, respectively last year, compared with the same period in 2024, according to the commission.

The mental health support hotline 12356 came into operation nationwide on May 1, and has received more than 700,000 calls and carried out nearly 10,000 successful crisis interventions, Li said.

Wang Haidong, head of the commission's population survey and family development department, said there were 4.73 childcare slots per 1,000 residents in 2025, and 890,000 new affordable slots were created, exceeding planned targets.

There are 126,000 childcare service institutions nationwide offering 6.66 million slots. In addition, 254 municipal-level comprehensive childcare service centers have been set up, covering 61 percent of all cities, Wang said.

Since 2021, a growing number of regions have introduced subsidies for childcare providers, helping reduce the national average cost of full-day care by 29 percent.

Some 80,000 childcare facilities have also partnered with healthcare institutions to provide enrolled children with services such as regular health checkups and growth monitoring, he added.

wangxiaoyu@chinadaily.com.cn