This is the third report of a weekly series published by Shenzhen Daily on local expat communities. This series aims to reflect expats’ lives in Shenzhen, the difficulties they encounter and the community services in place and on the way to assist them. Anne Zhang
zhangy49@gmail.com AS an increasing number of expats are coming to Shenzhen to study, work and visit, some local public hospitals are meeting the need for high-quality medical services for expats and are gaining popularity. Shekou People’s Hospital is a typical example. Located in Nanshan District’s Shekou, where nearly 70 percent of the city’s expat population lives, the hospital is the only comprehensive and public hospital in the southern Chinese mainland that is accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI). It treated more than 6,000 expat patients last year, a 20-percent increase from 2012. About 80 percent of the doctors in the hospital speak English, and the signs are printed in both Chinese and English, explained Peggy Meng with the hospital’s outpatient department. The hospital sends its staff overseas regularly to update their medical knowledge and skills, build connections with overseas medical institutions and practice their foreign languages, said Du Wei with the hospital’s JCI office. The hospital allows only one patient to see a doctor at a time, Du said, adding that his hospital forbids every medical practitioner from talking about a patient’s medical information in public. American Joyanne Garvey spoke highly of the hospital’s medical service. “I was greeted and warmly welcomed at the reception desk,” Garvey said. “The doctors care for every patient. I felt very comfortable seeing a doctor there.” Meng said her hospital plans to cooperate with some international insurance companies to better serve expat patients. Peking University Shenzhen Hospital in Futian District already works with many international insurance companies, such as U.S.-based Aetna, Europe-based ERV and Japan-based Wellbe. The hospital’s International and VIP Health Center treated more than 1,800 expat patients last year. The hospital is organizing a volunteer team to translate for expat patients. The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital is another choice for expats. Even though health services for exapts in Shenzhen are getting better, improvements are still needed. The city’s emergency center still needs to open an English-language emergency hotline for expats, Lan Wei with Peking University Shenzhen Hospital said. She added that ATMs in the city and POS machines in hospitals should accept international credit cards. Meng said medical practitioners must know about foreign cultures and be aware of a patient’s religious beliefs. Meng also said that Chinese doctors should avoid giving Chinese medicines to expat patients because Chinese medicines usually contain several ingredients that could cause allergic reactions. | 