TICKET scalpers at the city’s major hospitals are frustrating law enforcement and patients alike, by selling registration numbers and essentially controlling queues in crowded waiting areas.

    “I arrived at Shenzhen Maternity and Children Healthcare Hospital in Futian District at 6 a.m. with my sick child, but when I got there, I found there already were nearly 20 scalpers queuing up at each window. If I didn’t buy a registration number from them, my child wouldn’t be able to see a doctor until about 4 p.m.,” a woman surnamed Li told the Southern Metropolis Daily this week.

    Similar situations are occurring at many Shenzhen hospitals, particularly those that specialize in maternity and children’s care amid the city’s ongoing baby boom.

    “Many scalpers queue up for registration at 3 o’clock every morning. By about 6: 30 a.m., there will be at least 40 people in front of each window,” said Li Defa, vice director of the outpatient department at Shenzhen Children’s Hospital in Futian District.

    An unidentified scalper told the newspaper that the average price for a regular outpatient registration number was 30 yuan (US$4.74), while registration numbers to see a chief doctor or expert reached 50 and 100 yuan, respectively.

    “If you pay 100 yuan, we can promise to get you a seat (in line) for an expert doctor,” the scalper said.

    The Metropolis Daily reported that each hospital has several scalping “bosses,” who each have more than 10 subordinate scalpers. Every morning, a subordinate scalper goes to a boss, gets a piece of paper with a child’s name and medical information, then queues up for that child.

    “Many patients just go to the hospital and get the number directly from the scalpers when they arrive,” Li said.

    Some of the larger scalper gangs have even founded companies to “help” patients register.

    “You can find their numbers and information on the Internet very easily,” Li said. “Some patients even become VIP members.”

    Hospitals are struggling to respond.

    “We have tried to crack down on scalpers with police, but police can do nothing (serious), so scalpers are released very soon after detainment and simply return to the hospitals,” said Lin Chuan, administration director for Shenzhen Maternity and Children Healthcare Hospital. “Once, scalpers even beat up several security guards for helping police catch them. The head of the security guards often receives threatening phone calls from scalpers.”

    Hospitals also have tried many measures to curb scalpers’ business, such as tightening registration requirements and offering online registration for patients.

    “I have worked at the hospital for eight years and have implemented at least 20 regulations to prevent scalpers, but we still can’t stop them,” Li said. “We also have banned our staff from allowing people to jump lines, and frequently changed the positions of security guards to prevent corruption, but it doesn’t work.”

    He suggested patients register online or on the telephone to fight against scalpers.

    “There have been many, many babies born in recent years, so hospitals are very crowded,” he added.

    (Wang Yuanyuan)