China has arranged for the central government to invest more than 20 billion yuan this year to renovate inpatient wards.

China News Service, Beijing, November 10 (Reporter Wang Mengyao) Huang Weiru, deputy director of the Department of Social Development of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, said in Beijing on the 10th that the central government will invest more than 20 billion yuan this year to transform 20,000 wards with four or more people into rooms with two or three people to continue to improve the hospital environment.

On the same day, the National Development and Reform Commission held a series of press conferences on the "15th Five-Year Plan" to introduce the situation of improving people's livelihood and well-being. Talking about new changes in medical treatment, Huang Weiru made the above introduction.

She pointed out that in the next step, we will continue to promote the renovation of hospital wards, add bathrooms, increase heating, air conditioning and exhaust facilities, strengthen aging-friendly and barrier-free renovations, put the patients at the center, make up for the shortcomings of facilities, and improve convenience and experience.

Huang Weiru pointed out that since this year, the National Development and Reform Commission has arranged for the central government to invest approximately 20 billion yuan to support the construction of 399 close county medical communities. Through resource sharing, personnel sinking, and service extension, the people can also enjoy the high-quality services of county-level hospitals at the grassroots level. In many places, people have been able to take X-rays and electrocardiograms at township health centers, and doctors from county hospitals can remotely read the results and make diagnoses, eliminating the need for patients to travel back and forth.

Regarding the issue of rehabilitation nursing, Huang Weiru said that cities will be used as units, starting from places with an aging population and high demand for rehabilitation nursing services, and in a step-by-step manner based on local conditions, treatment beds in tertiary hospitals, rehabilitation beds in secondary hospitals, and grassroots and family beds will be effectively connected. She said: “Stay in a tertiary hospital during the acute postoperative period, transfer to a secondary hospital during the recovery period, and return to the grassroots level during the stable period, so that patients can continue their recovery and be discharged with confidence.”