A mobile hospital using two adapted buses went into service in Shenzhen on Wednesday.
   
The provider of the mobile hospital is the Xixiang People's Hospital in Bao'an District. The two buses were dispatched to an electronics factory Wednesday evening on the hospital's first mission, reported Shenzhen Daily.
   
More than a dozen medical workers from the hospital armed with medical equipment went to provide medical examinations for more than 100 factory employees.
   
Some workers who visited the mobile hospital said it was helpful because they would be reluctant to ask for a leave to see doctors in a hospital.
   
"Usually we don't think we'll get seriously ill," said a man surnamed Zhang. He said frequent checks and advice from the medical workers could help reduce the risk of becoming seriously ill, which they could not afford to pay for.
   
Chen Ruguang, head of the Xixiang People's Hospital, said the community near his hospital had a population of more than 600,000 and more than 90 percent were migrant workers employed in nearly 1,000 factories. "Our service targets these people," he said.
   
Chen also said most of the migrant workers were very young and knew little about health. "They also have difficulty asking for sick leave," he said.
   
Another thing was that the workers often used illegal clinics, often resulting in poor treatment.
   
Chen said the mobile hospital would work in the evenings when many workers had finished work or at least had a break.
   
Chen said the hospital represented an investment of more than 1 million yuan (US$120,000). It was capable of conducting a variety of tests including X-rays, electrocardiograms and blood tests.
   
The mobile hospital did not charge registration fees or for prescriptions, tests and checks, so the cost is kept to a maximum of 30 yuan for each worker, Chen said.

(Shenzhen Daily October 22, 2004))