The New Taipei City mayoral election continues to heat up. Kuomintang New Taipei mayor candidate Li Sichuan and medical doctors established the New Taipei Physicians Support Association at the Banqiao campaign headquarters today. People at the scene enthusiastically shouted "frozen garlic" and shook hands. The atmosphere was quite warm. Li Sichuan said in his speech that he had built many hospitals from Yangming to Tucheng during his official career. Although he could not see doctors, he could create a good environment for doctors. If elected in the future, he would promote the Banqiao Medical Park and expand the Tucheng Changzhao Park. He would also study the relaxation of laws and regulations and provide guidance based on local conditions to solve problems such as the management of old buildings in regional hospitals and grassroots clinics.
Li Sichuan pointed out that he has had a deep connection with the medical community since he became a public servant. He detailed that in the past, he participated in the construction of joint hospital systems such as Yangming Hospital, Heping Hospital, and Zhongxiao Hospital in Taipei City, either participating in the design or construction. After coming to Taipei County, faced with the dilemma that medical resources were concentrated in Taipei City, he successively promoted expansion and new construction, including large hospitals such as Gengxin and Tzu Chi. In the past few years, it took five years to successfully complete the Tucheng Hospital. Li Sichuan said with a smile, "Although I don't have the means to see a doctor, I can build a hospital for doctors to see me."
Li Sichuan also shared his past experience as deputy county magistrate of Taipei County and pointed out that there was a lack of clinics in remote areas of Pingxi. The county government coordinated a doctor to go to the elders' homes for medical treatment two days a week. The doctor even rode a motorcycle to visit the elders' homes and administer vaccinations. Later, due to regulatory issues such as licenses for the use of old buildings, the health bureau almost shut down the business. The county government immediately stepped in to help resolve legal issues.
In response to the operating difficulties faced by regional hospitals and clinics, Li Sichuan mentioned that when he was the deputy mayor of New Taipei City in the past, he discussed with the medical community that it was indeed difficult for many old buildings to fully comply with the current new regulations. At that time, he adopted the principle that as long as the public safety inspection was safe, the old illegal construction would be listed and passed. However, in recent years, local grassroots hospitals have faced operating pressure due to relevant laws and audit requirements.
Li Sichuan emphasized, "I am good at building new buildings. So to deal with these old buildings that should have existed, we should make them legal in line with the past." If the structure cannot be changed and strict requirements are imposed, it will eventually lead to the closure of the institution. He promised that if he is elected back to office at the end of the year, he will definitely face and deal with relevant issues, reorganize the health bureau's inspections and regulations, develop identification methods and loosen regulations that are suitable for local conditions, and fully guide regional hospitals and clinics to play a key role in making up for the lack of care in large medical centers.
Regarding the overall medical hardware blueprint planning, Li Sichuan pointed out that the Banqiao area will promote the establishment of the Banqiao Medical Park after the relocation of the Health Bureau; the long-term care park around Tucheng Hospital can also be further expanded and planned; as for Luzhou and Tamsui's efforts to establish hospitals and other needs, they will promote new construction one by one in the future, and strive to provide a better hardware environment for the medical community and the public. He emphasized that if elected at the end of the year, he would definitely sit down with the medical community to discuss, face and solve problems.
