Shanghai Daily news

City police injured on duty are receiving priority medical treatment through the "Green Passage" program, according to a report issued by the Shanghai Health Bureau and the Shanghai Public Security Bureau.
According to Yang Ye, a Shanghai Public Security Bureau spokeswoman, Green Passage, which was set up in June last year, serves as a quick medical aid pattern as well as an emotional channel connecting the city's health departments and local police.
When injured, police officers should either provide their police cards or police numbers to gain priority treatment over other patients in the city's more than 50 hospitals at district level or above.
Yang said opening the Green Passage for injured officers had became a key factor in protecting the legal rights of police in enforcing the law.
"As crime has increased in the past years, the number of cases in which police officers get injured is also on the rise," Yang said. "On some occasions, officers have even sacrificed their lives."
In 2003, a total of 144 police officers were wounded while on duty. The number rose to 168 last year.
Xuhui was the first district in the city to set up the Green Passage.
Officers, once injured, are supposed to receive priority medical treatment by preselected doctors in eight hospitals around the district.
Emergency workers deal with the procedures, such as ultrasonic checks or admission registration for the wounded, and the medical expenses can be settled within three days.
Since starting, Green Passage has reportedly benefited more than 20 officers in Xuhui.
Officials highlighted examples to show the significance of the policy.
On june 28, 2004, a police officer named Wang Yeqing was attacked by men with long knives while cracking down on a gambling den in Jiading District.
He was immediately rushed to the Shanghai No. 9 People's Hospital which arranged the best doctors to reattach Wang's severed fingers and toes.
In another case, a Yangpu District officer named Jin Jixiang received knife wounds while handling a civil dispute on November 11. He was sent to Changhai Hospital where the officer received timely treatment before his colleagues could finish the registration.