Top medical services at the doorsteps of Chongming Island residents

Residents in suburban Chongming District can now see medical experts on their doorsteps thanks to the city’s ongoing medical reform that sees suburban and downtown hospitals join hands to streamline services.

Chongming, more than two-hours' drive from downtown Shanghai, is China’s third-largest island, taking up more than 1,400 square kilometers and accommodating nearly 700,000 residents. But it lacks qualified doctors and comprehensive hospitals. 

Chongming residents used to need to spend a day commuting between Chongming and downtown Shanghai to see medical experts.

But that has changed since Xinhua Hospital, one of the most reputable hospitals in Shanghai and China, formed an alliance with Chongming Central Hospital, now the Chongming branch of Xinhua Hospital.

From March 28, Sun Kun, president of Xinhua Hospital, and other top doctors of the hospital go to Chongming every month to see local patients.

Once, Sun diagnosed a three-year-old girl with a congenital heart disease. The girl was granted green channel access to undergo surgery at Xinhua Hospital. 

The Chongming branch of Xinhua Hospital also sends doctors to community healthcare centers to provide physiotherapy services.

A man surnamed Qian, 56, with cervical problems, said he often receives physiotherapy to relive the pain. It used to take him at least 30 minutes to get to the Chongming branch of Xinhua Hospital where he would have to wait in a long queue. Now he just needs to walk five minutes to the Gangxi Town healthcare center to receive the same treatment.

“It is common that patients who undergo operations don’t receive proper post-care treatment, which causes them to be admitted to hospital repeatedly and waste medical resources,” Sun said. “But now they can receive the treatment right at their doorsteps.”