Zhanjiang hospital selected as part of Climbing Peak Program

The Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University, one of the first nine major hospitals to be chosen for the Guangdong Climbing Peak Program, will receive three billion yuan ($468.5 million) from the provincial financial budget.

The Climbing Peak Program came in response to the national strategy "Healthy China 2030", the country's first national-level medium- to long-term strategic plan for national health and wellbeing. Its goal is to make quality healthcare more affordable and accessible to locals.

Over the next three years, Guangdong will allocate six billion yuan to help a total of 20 prospective hospitals involved in the program to be elevated to first-class medical institutions. Significant progress is expected to be made in critical illness treatment, clinical medical research, talent cultivation, and administrative management.

The province is set to have one comprehensive national medical center, as well as several specialized national medical centers, regional medical centers, and regional traditional Chinese medicine treatment centers by 2020. There will also be two to three more national labs, four to six more clinical medical research centers, and over 15 top 100 hospitals in the country.

The nine hospitals have all established their own goals and have signed a liability statement. The Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province will evaluate their performance in multiple areas in accordance with the stated objective by 2020 and 2022. 

The other eight entries to the program were the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Nanfang Hospital, Guangdong General Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical College, Guangdong Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, University of Hong Kong – Shenzhen Hospital, and First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College.