Shandong’s Yanggu Upgrades Rural Medical Institutions

YANGGU, China, July 10, 2024 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–

“The clinic near our home is the most convenient place for us to seek medical treatment, which not only saves money but also avoids cumbersome procedures.” On July 6, Ms. Song presented a banner to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Dabu Township Clinic in Yanggu County, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province. Ms. Song, who had been suffering from fluctuations in body temperature and weakened immunity, visited various doctors before finally finding a solution at the clinic near her home. Her experience reflects the improvement in rural medical and health capabilities in Yanggu County in recent years.

Township health clinics (communities) and village clinics are the medical institutions closest to the people. In accordance with the requirements of the “Three-Year Action Plan for Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Rural Medical and Health Services,” the Health Bureau of Yanggu County has set the goal of “improving the county-level public hospitals, activating the vitality of township medical institutions, stabilizing the base of village-level medical services, establishing close ties between county-level hospitals and primary medical institutions‌ and among primary medical institutions, and strengthening the flow of information in the medical and health service system,” and has been making continuous efforts from the following five aspects to promote the upgrading of rural medical institutions.

Enhancing grassroots medical service capabilities. County hospitals play a leading role in regional medical development. Yanggu County has established a smart health management information platform that connects county, township, and village, initially attaining functions such as online consultation, appointment scheduling, two-way referral, mutual recognition of test data, and remote imaging collaboration. Within the county, one “three-high” center, 19 “three-high” bases, and 96 “three-high” homes have been established to achieve county-wide coverage of “co-management of three-high and prevention of six diseases.”

Improving the hardware facilities of rural medical institutions. All township health centers in Yanggu County have met the national basic standards for quality service at the grassroots level, with continuous enhancement of hardware facilities. The layout of village clinics is rational and complies with the requirements of the 15-minute health service circle in rural areas; village clinics have continuously enhanced their service capabilities, especially those undertaking basic public health service projects have been equipped with intelligent follow-up devices.

Optimizing rural doctor teams. Yanggu County actively recruits college students to join grassroots medical and health institutions, with an average of two qualified rural doctors in each village currently. To enhance the level of grassroots medical teams, Yanggu County has carried out the campaigns such as quality service at the grassroots level and Thousands of Medical and Nursing Staff in Villages, established a complete hierarchical assistance mechanism, and formed a county-level expert team for quality service at the grassroots level in order to enhance the diagnosis and treatment capabilities of rural doctors through training, business examination and assessment.

Strengthening the capacity building of grassroots traditional Chinese medicine services. In line with the task of building a national demonstration county for grassroots traditional Chinese medicine, Yanggu County has vigorously enhanced the traditional Chinese medicine service capabilities of grassroots medical institutions. All 19 grassroots medical institutions in the county have achieved full coverage of traditional Chinese medicine clinics, all of which meet provincial standards. Besides, many village clinics have been established with a strong focus on traditional Chinese medicine and enhanced service capabilities. Through training, apprenticeship, and external study programs, Yanggu County has actively cultivated talent in traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, over 3,500 individuals have received training in this field.