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Pudong sets up pediatric health care network
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A pediatric health network comprising 16 hospitals and clinics has been set up in the Pudong New Area as part of a program to enhance the city’s capabilities in caring for sick children.
Organized by the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, the group consists of 10 general hospitals, one maternity hospital and five neighborhood health centers, the district government said yesterday.
“The purpose of the network is to provide a self-sufficient and integrated health care service for children in Pudong,” said Dr Jiang Zhongyi, president of the medical center.
He said he hopes it will give parents the confidence to take their children to local hospitals and health centers for an initial diagnosis rather than heading straight to a specialist facility.
“Many parents take their children to pediatric hospitals because they don’t trust their local doctors, but in most cases that is not necessary and is a waste of time for everyone concerned,” he said.
Within the network, parents will have the reassurance of knowing that if a local doctor suspects a patient has a problem that merits seeing a specialist, the child will be immediately referred, he said.
“But if he or she has nothing more than a cold or a sore throat they can be treated there and then,” Jiang said
According to an anonymous Pudong government official, just 20 percent of the children seen by doctors at pediatric hospitals actually require specialist help.
Jiang said that as well as managing the network, the children’s center will provide training to pediatricians working in general hospitals.
“This will be especially useful in relieving the burden on pediatric hospitals, whose beds are often full of children recovering from illness or surgery,” he said.
“Once a child is well enough, they can be transferred to their local hospital where they can be cared for until they are fit enough to go home.”
The pediatric network in Pudong is one of five currently under development or operational in the city.
With the changes in the family planning rules and an expected surge in the number of births, the pressure on an already stretched pediatric health care service will only increase.
In response, the government has, as part of its five-year economic and social development plan, set a target to recruit hundreds of pediatricians across the city, with 378 needed in Pudong alone. The area is home to about a quarter of Shanghai’s population, including 625,000 children under the age of 14.
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