BEIJING: China’s top health authority stressed ramping up treatment for vulnerable COVID-19 patients, as well as reinforcing preparedness of elderly care facilities and emergency care resources, as part of efforts to lessen the impact of the disease.
The National Health Commission said that tertiary hospitals — large, general hospitals in cities — should devote all efforts to treating elderly and child COVID-19 patients showing serious symptoms, and each hospital should be paired with a specific area and county-level clinics to provide targeted assistance.
Secondary hospitals — those sitting on the middle level of China’s three-tier hospital system — should be paired with local elderly care homes. However, no hospitals are allowed to reject serious COVID-19 patients transferred from outside regions assigned to them, the commission said.
“Meanwhile, medical institutions should pay close attention to key facilities such as elderly care homes and key services such as first aid care to ensure the orderly operation of healthcare systems,” it said.
“Coordination and allocation of medical resources should be improved, and more efforts should be dedicated to monitoring the epidemic situation, flattening the curve and addressing public complaints,” it added.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
