Shanghai hospitals boost outpatient and emergency services

Outpatient and emergency services at Shanghai's 36 city-level hospitals have increased by 103 percent and 65 percent respectively last week compared with the first week of this month, said a senior hospital management executive.

"Moreover, 33 out of the 36 medical institutions have opened emergency treatment channels to guarantee the non-stop, smooth operation of first-aid green channels," said Wang Xingpeng, director of the Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, at a municipal press briefing on Sunday.

"Hospitals have also boosted their capacity to handle phone calls from the public to ensure smooth communication," he added.

Regarding outpatient service, Wang said all hospital departments are currently operational.

In response to some residents' needs to replenish chronic disease medicines, city-level hospitals, including children's hospitals, have arranged offline windows where community volunteer can pick up these medications.

Data shows that the number of surgical operations at city-level hospitals over the past week doubled compared to that in the first week of this month.

"The medical institutions are identifying patients with urgent need for surgeries, including malignant tumor sufferers, to arrange surgery schedules," Wang said.