Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

THE Central Government will provide Shenzhen with a subsidy of 10 million yuan (US$1.49 million) this year to help the city further improve its medical services, as the city’s medical reforms were recognized for their remarkable results in 2021, according to a notice issued by the General Office of the State Council recently.

Last year, Shenzhen made overall plans for COVID-19 prevention and control as well as high-quality medical development, continued to improve epidemic prevention and treatment capacities, and kept deepening health-care reforms, according to the municipal health commission.

Meanwhile, the city continued to improve its public health emergency response system and service system for the elderly and children, promoted the expansion and accessibility of high-quality medical resources and the high-quality development of public hospitals, and worked to create a “Shenzhen model” for the Healthy China Initiative.

Shenzhen added 1,086 hospital beds to its total of over 60,000 in 2021, while also moving forward with 85 key investment projects in medical facility reconstruction and expansion, the city’s health commission said.

In addition, the city has added two more high-level hospitals at the provincial level, with a total of seven. So far, Shenzhen has 28 grade-A tertiary hospitals that represent the highest level of hospitals in China.

In 2021, the city added 91 new community health institutions, bringing the total to 833.

To ease the burden on patients, Shenzhen reduced the previous price catalog of 9,261 basic medical services to 7,664 items, issued 52 outpatient specific disease policies and saved 3.63 billion yuan on drug procurement.

In terms of public health service provision, the city conducted 266,000 and 327,000 free screenings for breast and cervical cancer, respectively, as well as 153,000 screenings for neonatal diseases and hearing in 2021.

In addition, Shenzhen provided pit and fissure sealants for 111,000 primary school students and completed myopia screening tests for 1.86 million children and primary and secondary school students, scoliosis screenings for 1.02 million adolescents, 150,300 postpartum visits and 146,000 neonatal visits, as well as free physical examination services for 384,000 senior citizens.

The city also built three nationally exemplary elderly-friendly communities, 30 inclusive nurseries and 42 inclusive kindergartens on a pilot basis in 2021, according to the city’s health commission.