Beijing hospitals to open seven days a week during Olympics
24/7/2008 17:11
Hospitals in Beijing will be open seven days a week during the Olympics to
better serve residents and visitors, although thousands of medical workers will
also serve the Games.
The city health department also asked hospitals to make
sure emergency rooms are open round the clock, today's Beijing Times
reported.
Beijing hospitals may be short-staffed, as 3,223 medical workers
have been assigned to the Olympic venues, Jin Dapeng, a senior official of the
city health department, told Xinhua. It will be a challenge for many to provide
the usual level of service to residents, he said.
Except for a few top-level
hospitals that are open seven days a week, most hospitals usually close on the
weekends or operate for half days.
The health department also warned that
hospitals must not use the Games as a pretext for not serving patients, for
instance, refusing to do surgeries.
According to the department, the city has
set up 18 emergency treatment centers at 13 top-level hospitals and included 91
other hospitals in an emergency network. They are able to receive up to 100
patients injured in any incident.
Xinhua
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