BEIJING: The number of children with respiratory illness visiting hospital pediatric departments is trending downward in China, health officials said on Sunday, adding that a recent nationwide surge in respiratory disease cases had not disrupted normal healthcare services.
China has experienced a surge in respiratory disease this winter, driven by co-circulation of multiple pathogens. Young children have been hit hard, stretching the capacities of pediatric facilities in some regions.
Mi Feng, a spokesman for the National Health Commission, told a news conference that the number of visits to large hospitals by child patients with respiratory illness is gradually falling.
“The increase in visits to pediatric hospitals and pediatric departments at general hospitals has also slowed down,” he said.
Mi said the overall volume of hospital visits by people with respiratory illness is at a stable level nationwide, thanks to efforts to channel mild cases to grassroots medical facilities, add capacity at pediatric and fever clinics and extend their operation hours.
“Normal medical services across the country are not affected,” he said.
Mi said continuous efforts will be made to facilitate partnerships and the transfer of patients between general hospitals and community clinics, and guide patients to seek medical services that fit the severity of their condition. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
